


Gaining From Loss

by Vulpixi_Misa



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Slow Build, rivals to friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-23
Updated: 2019-10-23
Packaged: 2020-12-29 13:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21141617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vulpixi_Misa/pseuds/Vulpixi_Misa
Summary: After thrown into certain situations, Ash and Paul must work together to get back what was lost and make it out alive.[Crossposted from FF.net. Work from 2008-2015.]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys it's been a billion years. So I thought it was about time to finally dust this off and post it properly since I haven't been using LJ in a long time.
> 
> For those who don't know, this fic started around 2008 and each chapter was uploaded like once a year around the same time until I finally posted the last chapter in 2015. So if there's a weird discrepancy or style change between chapters, you know what's up. I also said I'd change the name of the title but after sticking with it for so long, I decided to just stay with it.
> 
> K+ rating for a few swears and some violence (?) in later chapters
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy my longest Comashipping fic. I'm actually pretty proud that I was able to call it complete.

"I'll go get it!" Ash yelled to his two friends as he grabbed two empty containers used for water. His best friend, the yellow rodent Pikachu, snatched a bucket that also needed to be filled.

"Okay, thanks Ash!" Brock yelled back. The tall and dark breeder was stirring his soup cautiously, making sure to get the perfect texture and the proper flavor. The other friend, Pokemon Coordinator Dawn, was setting up the table for three of them.

Meanwhile, their pokemon of all sizes, colors and shapes, were preparing a big blanket on the lush green grass where they would be eating. Piplup and Buneary, along with Ambipom and Buizel were carrying dishes and placing them in the proper arrangements. Staravia, Turtwig and Sudowoodo held cans of the pokemon food in assorted flavors. Croagunk watched from a tree nearby, in case anything out of the ordinary were to happen. Happiny and Pachirisu were playfully oblivious to the work being done, but none minded; they were children (or had the mind of a child) after all.

It was near noon, which meant it was lunchtime, and not a Pokemon Center was in sight. The group decided to settle at their current location for a meal before picking up again. The next town was a few days of travel away, so there wasn't much to look forward to.

Ash pushed his way past thick branches and bushes in the woods to the river that was nearby. The rushing waters could be heard from the forest clearing where they had set up camp. He stepped up to the running source of water, Pikachu followed shortly with the bucket handle firmly gripped in his yellow paws. Dropping to his knees, Ash was able to dip the bottle into the cool water.

As he was about to put down the full container, he saw a blob of blue floating to the water's surface. Two small beads for eyes blinked at the trainer and Pikachu as it hovered suspiciously in the river. Ash then realized that it was a pokemon staring back at him and relaxed a bit. Pikachu waved at the creature, his own bucket of water already filled. The pokémon didn't react to Pikachu's greeting. Instead, it suddenly dove back into the river, as if sensing danger.

A moment later, rustling from bushes on the other side of the river was heard. Ash averted his attention to the source of the noise to see a very familiar trainer jumped out from the forest. As frustrated as ever, Paul stomped up to the edge of the river. He spotted Ash and his Pikachu from the other side, but ignored them, as if they weren't there at all.

The blue pokemon submerged from its dive and made its way down the river. Upon seeing the pokemon, Paul jumped across some stepping stones that lay a path to Ash's side.

"Hey you! Catch that Quagsire!"

Ash blinked, but then realized that he was being spoken to. The pokemon was in fact a Quagsire, and for some reason Paul was asking him to catch it. Seeing that the Quagsire was already a good distance away from where he and Pikachu were, there really wasn't much that Ash could do. Paul had landed a few feet next to him, not missing a moment.

"You're useless, you know that?"

He sprinted after the water type, not taking another glance at the other trainer. Ash stood up with a huge frown on his face and a displeased grunt. He was not about to let that guy insult him and get away with it. He ran after Paul, willing to prove that he wasn't good for nothing.

"Pikachu, maybe you can slow it down with a Thunderbolt?"

The yellow mouse nodded and let loose a stream of electricity aiming for the Quagsire. The blue mudfish pokemon didn't seem to be fazed by the attack and carried on downstream.

"Are you stupid or really trying to get on my nerves? Quagsire is a ground type and not at all affected by Electric type attacks." Paul yelled without turning around.

"Well, do you want my help or not?" Ash snapped back but didn't stop running. "Maybe a Quick Attack will knock it out of the water?"

Pikachu complied and dashed towards the Water/Ground type.

"Quagsire!"

"P-Pika!"

Pikachu had been able to smash into the other pokemon but the impact of the attack didn't send it very far. The electric rodent slipped against the Quagsire's rubbery skin and fell into the rushing waters. Gasping for breath, Pikachu resurfaced and then struggled to get back ashore.

"Pikachu!"

Ash was just about to jump into the water, but he collided against Paul's back, who had stopped running. He voiced his annoyance with a loud "Hey!", but the other boy had his attention up at the sky. Looking up too, Ash was able to spot a very familiar hot air balloon in the shape of a Meowth head.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me very loud and clear."

"Go away Team Rocket, you're not wanted here!"

Jessie felt a vein burst. "Hey you! What right do you have interrupting us like that?!"

"Forget it Jessie, I'll just get the net." With that James pushed a button on a remote he had produced from behind his back. From the bottom compartment of the balloon, a big Butterfree net shot out and scooped both pokemon out of the water.

"Nyahaha! We've got what we want." Meowth jumped up into view. "So, now we scram." Pushing another button on the remote held by James, the balloon casket suddenly grew turbo rockets and sped off.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Ash growled and reached down to his belt for Staravia's pokeball. His fingers met air and he realized his pokemon were back at the clearing with Dawn and Brock. He bit his lip and glanced over at Paul.

The other trainer didn't look like he was going to do anything. With a low growl, Ash pushed past him and ran after the balloon. His feet weren't a match for the turbo rockets and by now, the hovering Meowth head was almost too far away to catch. His chest started aching from lack of air, but he would not give up; he was going to save Pikachu, even if his lungs exploded in the process.

The balloon flew well past the cliff where the river cascaded down the steep piece of land. With determination in his eyes, Ash dug his heels into the dirt before launching himself at the balloon with a vehement cry.

The Team Rocket members gawked at his feat, nearly dropping the remote that held the confined Pikachu and Quagsire.

Ash's gloved hand swiped at the green basket to gain some holding but he fell short a few inches. On his way down he tried to hang onto the Butterfree net and missed that too. Left with no third option, Ash continued to fall.

Before any sort of scream could leave his mouth, he felt someone grab a hold of his arm. Ash looked up and saw that it was Paul who had caught him. He wasn't out of danger yet because the other trainer was struggling to hold himself up on the ledge with his other hand.

"You really are an idiot." Paul had muttered that under his teeth before the rocks beneath his fingers crumbled and the two trainers plummeted.


	2. Chapter 2

The forest of trees grew bigger as Ash and Paul flew downward. Panic filled Ash's veins at the impending doom. He looked over to his rival. Unlike him though, Paul seems to be perfectly calm, as if falling off this great height wouldn't kill either of them.

"Paul! What are we going to do?!" He screamed past the wind rushing against them.

His rival gave him a slight glance, but he didn't answer. Paul looked back at the sea of green below him, his mind racing.

"Paul!"

"Be quiet and listen. If you can get a hold of the branches then you can control how fast you're falling. You got that?"

Ash nodded, though slightly unsure about how he was going to pull off that stunt. He swallowed hard and mentally prepared himself.

He crashed into the first few branches as the leaves quickly enveloped him. Ash managed to grab a hold on a thick piece of wood, which stopped him from falling at the moment. Before he could let out a sigh of relief, it snapped at his weight and he continued to go down.

Paul easily maneuvered his way from the top of the tree to the trunk in a matter of a few minutes. He was on the ground in no time and barely scathed, other than a few scratches on his hands and a few pieces of leaves that got caught in his hair. He looked up at the trees and wondered if the other guy made it down okay.

A rustle was heard in the tree directly above him, but before Paul could move out of the way, Ash came screaming down the branches and landed directly on his rival.

Ash rubbed his head slightly, though very thankful he made it out of the danger. After that branch snapped, he did cling onto another one and he slowly made his way down the tree, until that last misplaced step caused him to lose his balance. He sat up and looked around, wondering where his rival had landed.

"Ugh…"

"Ack!"

Ash quickly stepped away from the rival he had just crash landed on. He held a hand out to Paul after the purple haired trainer sat up. To his displeasure, his hand was ignored as Paul just got up and dusted himself off.

"Are you okay Paul?"

"…" Paul had glared at him then rolled his eyes. "I'm fine."

The Veilstone trainer readjusted his backpack over his shoulders and started to walk. Ash saw his rival was leaving without him and hurried after him so that he wouldn't be lost and alone in the forest.

"Hey Paul, wait up!"

Paul didn't stop, though he did slow down a bit. He felt a sense of déjà vu as the other trainer caught up to him. He was sure this scenario happened before.

"Paul, we have to find Team Rocket. Do you know the fastest way out of this forest?"

"…" He glanced to the side where Ash was walking. "When we fell off that cliff, it threw us off the map. It's nearly impossible to pinpoint a way out of here."

"Is… is that so…"

By now Team Rocket is probably long gone with Pikachu and the wild Quagsire. Ash looked up at the trees that blocked out the sky. Rays of sunlight still managed to seep through the dense clumps of leaves, but there was no view of the sky and no way to tell which direction Team Rocket had escaped to. Ash looked down to the dirt as he continued walking, thinking of any way to get back on track. He clenched his fists. He had none of his other pokémon with him and there was no way he'd be able to contact his friends, who were unaware that he had fallen into danger. For once in his life, Ash felt helpless.

He glanced at the purple haired trainer, who seemed perfectly calm and unaware of Ash's current predicament. He bit his lower lip and looked back at the ground, wondering if he should just give up his pride so he can find his best friend.

"Paul…?"

Said trainer made no notion that he was listening, but Ash was pretty sure he was.

"This may come off sounding selfish, but… I need your help. We have to get out of here, and I have to find Team Rocket, who have Pikachu at the moment. I have no idea where we are, or where we're going and my pokemon are back with Dawn and Brock. Please, let me travel with you until we get out of here."

When Paul didn't respond, Ash thought about what would happen if he never saw Pikachu again. He bit down on his lower lip again, to stop it from trembling.

"Please Paul, I-"

"Fine."

Ash blinked. Did Paul just agree to help him?

Paul stopped and turned to face his rival. "Just don't get in my way. If you ever start lagging behind, I'm leaving you."

"Th-thanks Paul…"

"I'm only helping you so you can get your Pikachu back. That's the only thing you're good for anyway."

Ash let out a silent sigh in relief. Despite the insult, he was really glad that Paul would be willing to help him in time of need. He supposed it was better than being stuck by himself in the middle of the woods.

Elsewhere, Dawn and Brock were wondering where Ash and Pikachu were with the water.

"Do you think something happened, Brock?" Dawn asked. "It's been a while and they usually don't take this long."

Brock turned from where he was feeding Happiny. "I hope not. Let's wait it out. If he doesn't come back in the next few minutes, we'll send out Staravia. Maybe he got distracted by something."

Despite her friend's reassurance, Dawn couldn't fight back the feeling that something was off. She looked up into the sky. The clouds were gone and it didn't look like it was going to rain any time soon. She told herself not to worry but her usual catchphrase didn't help at all.

* * *

"Pikapi!" Pikachu yelled as he watched in horror his trainer fall from the cliff. He clawed and bit at the Butterfree net that held him and the wild Quagsire but it had no effect on his containment.

"How's it going down dere Pikachu? Are ya ready to become a member of dah great Team Rocket?"

Pikachu glared at the scratch cat pokemon that taunted him from the green basket above. His cheeks sparked with electricity while Meowth laughed at the yellow rodent's misery.

"PIKACHUUU!"

Collective screams of pain came from the balloon basket above the two pokemon, followed by an explosion. Pikachu knew what came next. He braced himself as the hot air balloon was blown up and sent the various parts flying in different directions

"How are we blasting off this time?!"

Team Rocket yelled as they shot off into a random direction and disappeared from view with a "DING!"

Pikachu and the Quagsire screamed as they flew through the air, soaring until gravity pulled them down. They crashed through many branches and twigs, which ripped open the net and the two pokemon fell to the forest floor with a thud.

"Pika…?" Pikachu asked as he sat up, lifting a paw to rub his furry head.

"Quag?" The Quagsire sat up, though it seemed unfazed by all the events it just went through. It looked at Pikachu and cocked its head to the side.

Pikachu was startled when the mudfish pokemon suddenly started to cough and hack. It choked up several pokeballs, much to Pikachu's surprise. After it up chucked six shrunken pokeballs, the Quagsire turned away and left the electric rodent by itself.

"Pika?"

The electric mouse sniffed at the balls, wondering if there were pokemon still inside them, and if those pokemon had a trainer. He poked his nose to enlarge one of the balls covered in slimy Quagsire saliva.

"TORTERRA!"

Pikachu jumped back as the giant Grass/Ground type dinosaur turtle appeared from the confines of the ball. The Torterra looked around several times before spotting the tiny rodent standing in front of him.

"Torterra? Terra?"

Pikachu gasped. This Torterra knew him. If that was the case, then the trainer of the Torterra must have known Ash.

"Pikachu, pika pika?"

"Terra."

Torterra checked his surroundings and spotted the other five pokeballs. He stomped over to one and asked Pikachu to release another pokemon.

"Murkrow!"

"Terra."

The Dark/Flying type landed herself on Torterra's head. She saw that there was no battle and her trainer was nowhere in sight.

"Krow? Murkrow? Murkrow murkow?"

Murkrow laughed at her own joke. Torterra just rolled his eyes. He knew better that their trainer wouldn't abandon them all at once. Torterra had been with his trainer since he was a Turtwig and he had a lot more faith in their trainer than the rest of them combined. Something must have happened to him for his whole team to be left unattended.

"Pika…chu pika?"

"Torterra terra."

Pikachu was right, these pokemon belonged to Paul. He figured that this must have been the reason Ash's rival had been so desperate to catch the Quagsire, because it had stolen his team of pokemon.

"Pika pikachu chu."

If Pikachu was separated from Ash and Paul's pokemon from their trainer, they should work together to find them. That was the smartest thing to do.

"Torterra terra torterra tor."

Pikachu sadly shook his head. He had no idea where he was at the moment. He also had no clue on how to find Ash or his friends. Torterra shook Murkrow off his head.

"Torterra torterra tor."

"Krow murkrow!"

"Pika!"

Of course! Murkrow was a flying type; she would be able to get help. Perhaps Dawn and Brock had already sent out Ash's Staravia to look for them. Things were looking brighter already, until Pikachu remembered what happened when he last saw Ash. He worried for the safety of his trainer and hoped that Paul would at least take care of him if anything happened. But from what he knew of Paul, Pikachu really had to hope.

"Pikapi…"

* * *

A gurgling sound echoed through the forest, sending a flock of bird pokemon off their branches. Ash groaned in frustration while clutching his stomach. He hadn't eaten since morning and he had just missed out on lunch. Why couldn't this have happened after he ate?

Brock and Dawn were probably worried sick about him too, seeing that he never came back with the water. That wasn't his main concern, he was sure the two could have taken care of themselves. Ash was more worried about the whereabouts of his best friend, Pikachu. His stomach growled again and Ash couldn't help but blush in embarrassment when he saw Paul had actually turned around and gave him an unreadable look.

"Say Paul? Do you have any food with you that you think you can-"

"No."

Ash hung his head dejectedly at the quick and very blunt reply. In addition to all his problems, now he had to include basic travel necessities like a decent food source. He didn't know how long he would survive this quest to saving Pikachu but if he wasn't even supplied with food, he didn't see how it was possible to go on.

Because Ash was walking in a daze, he hadn't realize Paul had stopped in his tracks. He bumped into his rival, which earned him a glare and a snarl of "watch it." Paul had turned his attention back to the tree he had been staring at. Ash looked at Paul, and then to the direction his rival was focused on. Had his thoughts not been so preoccupied, Ash would have been able to recognize what kind of tree it was.

The Veilstone trainer walked up to the trunk of the tree and looked up into the dense branches above. Ash was startled when Paul lifted a leg and kicked the trunk with the heel of his foot. Several apples fell out of the tree, one landed directly in Paul's open palm. His rival took a bite out of the apple and continued on his way.

"I'm not stopping for a food break, so you better stock up now."

Ash wasn't even able to utter a sound before he scooped up several apples into his arms and rushed to catch up to Paul. He chomped on an apple but the task was made difficult with the half dozen other ripe apples in his arms. He wondered how he was going to "stock up" if he didn't have anything to put the fruit in. For the moment, he dropped the apples into the make-shift basket that he had formed with the ends of his t-shirt.

They continued their path in the direction that Paul led them in. A part of Ash was somewhat skeptical about following Paul. Even as experienced as both trainers were, Ash was sure that even Paul would not be able to navigate his way through a forest without a map. But then again, Paul was native to Sinnoh and he did have some survival skills that Ash lacked, maybe he should stop doubting the only person he can rely on at the moment.

The rest of the afternoon was spent following his rival around, never questioning where they were going through the tall grass. The sun slowly set over the horizon, but neither trainer were able to see it since the trees grew tall and loomed over them. Only when it was getting difficult to see past a few feet in front of them did they decide it was too dark and dangerous to continue.

"Paul, where are we going to set up camp?"

The purple hair rival didn't say anything in response. Instead, he sized up a neighboring tree and started to climb it. Paul sat on a thicker piece of branch and leaned against the upper trunk, positioning his backpack in a manner that it would not fall off.

"Paul?"

"What?"

"Why are you in that tree?"

"What do you think? I'm settling in for the night. You know as well as I do that it's stupid to go on in the dark."

Ash rolled his eyes; of course he knew that, that's why he asked about camp. "Yeah, but, why are you up in that tree?"

"What, do you usually set up camp in the middle of tall grass?" Paul asked with deep mockery in his tone.

"Well, we usually find a clearing and set up a fire then make food and…" He drifted off when he realized Paul wasn't really paying attention.

Ash sighed. He decided arguing with his rival was not the best thing to do at the moment. He never really liked Paul's ideals, not when it came to Pokemon training and not his attitude towards Pokemon. This might have been another thing to add on the list because the tree still baffled him.

The Pallet town trainer settled on a branch not too far off from his rival on an adjacent tree. He took a glance over at Paul, who appeared to be asleep. Ash had never spent the night on such a precarious location and he wondered if Paul did this every night while in the woods. Things looked a little different from the top of the branches but Ash was no HootHoot and he wondered if he was going to be able to get sleep tonight.


	3. Chapter 3

Everywhere he looked his eyes met with darkness. Ash wondered where he was and how he had even arrived at this place when one tiny speck of yellow caught his eye. He squinted to get a better look at what the yellow was and realized that it was a pokemon. Actually it was a Pikachu to be precise, his Pikachu.

"Pikachu!"

Ash yelled, reaching out a hand to his friend who was probably too far away to even hear him. He ran towards the lightning rodent but with every step he took, Pikachu seemed to shrink farther from his sight.

And then a giant cat paw snatched Pikachu into its grasp. The trainer stopped and gasped at the Meowth that towered over him like a giant building.

"What'sa matta twoip? Cat got ya tongue?" Team Rocket's Meowth sneered at him.

"Give me back my Pikachu!" He yelled at the cat although he knew it was futile.

"Yeah right! Why don't you try and get it?"

The humongous scratch cat pokemon revealed his clenched paw but there was no Pikachu. Instead, he lowered his paw to Ash and flicked him with his fingers. The size and force of the action flung the trainer backwards and then he fell and fell and fell.

"Ah!"

"Aipom! Ai! Ai!"

When Ash finally landed, he opened his eyes and he realized he was staring at dirt. Dirt? And was that an Aipom he heard? Where did the giant Meowth go? And what about Pikachu?

"You're finally awake. Get up or I'm leaving you for the Ursaring."

At the sound of that mocking tone, Ash sat up and he realized that he was indeed awake. Obviously the whole giant Meowth and tiny Pikachu was all a dream. He didn't remember sleeping on the ground though.

Taking another look, he saw that Paul was already up and prepared to move out. Behind him a family of Aipom was glaring angrily, shaking their tail fists at him. He realized he must have been dreaming in the tree and probably disturbed the sleeping Aipom, thus they shoved him off the branch. What a rude awakening.

"Well, I'm leaving."

"W-wait! Paul!"

* * *

"Nurse Joy!"

"Oh, Nurse Jo- ARGH!"

Dawn waited for Croagunk to drag the paralyzed Brock elsewhere before she turned her attention back to the nurse.

"Please Nurse Joy, has a trainer named Ash come by here or have you seen him around? He wears a red hat and carries a Pikachu on his shoulders."

"I'm sorry, but no one of that description has come by this Pokemon Center. Is something wrong?"

The girl looked like she might cry but the reassuring hand of the recovered breeder shook her out of it. Dawn looked helplessly at Brock and all he could do was shake his head.

"Nurse Joy, our friend has gone missing in the woods since last night and we have heard no sign of him. He was last seen on Route 212 with his Pikachu. They were supposed to be gathering water but he never came back."

Nurse Joy looked shocked. "Oh my, that's terrible! I'll call Officer Jenny to set up a search mission right away."

"Thank you very much Nurse Joy."

Brock led Dawn to a bench and seated her and their belongings (including Ash's) onto the cushions. The coordinator let out her Piplup and smothered the penguin in a nervous hold. The penguin gasped for air but upon seeing his distressed trainer, he stopped his struggle and allowed Dawn a hug.

"Ash, you better be okay. You've always made it through fine please don't let this be any different." Brock muttered.

* * *

Stopping only for food restock (more fruit, oh boy) Ash and Paul continued their way to who knows where. Both trainers hoped to find some sight of civilization soon because the company of the other was getting to be more than a little unnerving.

In all the times that Ash has traveled, he had never gone for so long without saying anything. He remembered his first few miles outside of Pallet with his newly acquired Pikachu. Despite the rough beginning, the two became very close and Pikachu was always by his side. Then followed Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn. Never was Ash unaccompanied. Even between the regions when some friends would part from the group, his number one Pikachu was always there. But at this very moment, his shoulders have never felt any emptier and despite the accompanying pair of shoes crunching down the dirt and shrubs Ash felt alone.

He tried, he really did. Ash asked pointless questions to pass time; he made mindless chatter with his rival even though it seemed he was talking more to himself. Paul didn't even look at him, and never once did he open his mouth to speak, even when a question was asked. That in itself made more of an impact than if Paul actually told him to shut up. So Ash just did him a favor and stopped talking.

"Of course," Ash thought to himself "how can you ever think that this might change things? Paul is Paul, no matter what you're going through. He's equally as lost as you are and he's helping you, so you might as well not do anything stupid that might make him angry and probably mess up your chance of ever seeing Pikachu again." Ash grumbled to himself and shoved his hands into his pockets. His fingertips found the smooth skin of a freshly picked apple that was stored for lunch. "Why do I even try to be his friend? It's not like he even enjoys my company. We have nothing in common." He mildly wondered if Paul was also thinking negative thoughts about him. "As if. I'm too pathetic of a trainer for him to even care about."

Ash snapped out of his deep thinking when he heard a howl pierce the air. It didn't go unnoticed by Paul, who paused in his spot and looked around them.

"What was th-"

"Sh!"

The two trainers heard several more howls followed shortly by rustling of bushes and growing patter of paws. They both seemed to sense the danger they were in, breaking into a run without uttering any unnecessary words.

Ash felt the pounding of his heart against his chest and the blood flowing through his ears made it hard to hear the growls of the wild pokemon. He did his best to keep up with Paul and nearly ran into him once again when his rival stopped abruptly.

"Paul, wh-"

But Ash didn't have to ask because he saw the pack of Mightyena that blocked off the direction they were heading to. He glanced at Paul, who looked more focus on getting away than putting up a fight. The Veilstone trainer turned to another direction before more of the dark type canines appeared. Ash took a glance behind him and he saw a few more of the pokemon were blocking them too. They were trapped in a ring of Mightyena.

"Looks like there's no way out of this Paul." Ash muttered to his rival as they stood back to back. "Do you think Ursaring can handle them?"

"…" Paul sized up the situation and pulled a pokeball out of his hand.

Ash expected an Ursaring, if not, probably Torterra, but he didn't expect his rival to throw it at one of the Mightyena.

"Paul! We're in a situation here! Can you think of catching Pokemon later?!"

The dark type didn't even go into the pokeball and slapped the offending item away. Angered by the first move, the Mightyena growled deeply, lowered its body and flared its tail out. The other pokemon in the pack mimicked the stance and then Ash knew they were in trouble.

He wasn't sure which one jumped first, perhaps they all jumped at the same time but one was heading at him and he couldn't do anything. Ash shut his eyes and held his arms over his head defensively waiting for the impact. But the impact never came. He heard a few whimpers and some thuds and he cautiously opened his eyes. Paul stood in front of him, holding his backpack in two hands. Another pokemon jumped and again, Paul batted his pack at the canine, swatting it across the muzzle before bashing it on the head.

"Paul, why don't you just use Ursaring's Hammer Arm?"

"Shut up!" His rival barked at him. "I would but I can't!"

"W-what?"

Momentarily shocked by his words, Ash didn't see the pokemon that pounced at him from behind him. However, Paul did and immediately shoved Ash to the side and punched the pokemon in the nose.

"And don't give me any of that "treat the pokemon nicely" crap because I just saved your life."

Ash snapped his jaw shut at the display and mentally told himself not to say anything about Paul's foul language. The injured Mightyena recovered with fury and took a bite out of Paul's bag. While his rival forcibly played tug of war with the pokemon, Ash watched the rest of the pack cautiously. His hand went for the apple in his pocket and gripped at it with a nervous force. Another Mightyena inched forward and charged at the trainers but Ash moved quicker and threw the ripe fruit at the pokemon, hitting it right between the eyes.

When Paul finally wretched his bag away from the dark type (though missing a strap now) he noticed he and Ash were backed up so far that even their shoulders touched. The whole pack all seemed to have moved a foot closer, decreasing both their fighting space and their fleeing chance.

"Look, I have a plan."

"Paul?"

"I'll distract them while they're focusing on me, break through the circle and run."

"What-"

"Just do it!"

Did Paul really just tell him to run and leave him? No, that can't be. Paul probably planned on having Ash run so that the Mightyena might all go after him instead. But what if Paul really did want Ash to escape? Can he trust him?

If he wanted to run, it was too late now. The Mightyena had already made their next move and went according to Paul's plan too. All the pokemon were focused on the Veilstone trainer, two were already taking nips at the bag that he swung around. Ash saw that there was a small opening that he can easily run through if he didn't trip up but then he looked back at his rival.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Paul shouted as he smashed a Mightyena in the face.

At that time, Paul lost a few seconds and the canines took advantage of that. One pounced at the trainer while he was still occupied, knocking him to the floor.

"Paul!"

Ash panicked and did the first thing his adrenaline forced him to do. He kicked the Mightyena off to the side and stood over his fallen rival.

"You leave him alone!" He said as he spread his arms wide in a futile attempt to shield the other trainer. His heart pounded and he was shaking and the idea that he had just bodily harmed a pokemon made him sick, but he needed to protect someone right now. Nothing was going to get past him.

Before Ash knew it, a Mightyena had caught him by the arm. He winced as he felt the pointed fangs sink into his skin and he was sure there was blood drawn.

"You fucking moron!"

The Mightyena promptly let go of his arm when Paul recovered and threw a fist in the pokemon's soft belly. Before Ash could even tend to his injury, his free arm was taken by something else and suddenly he was pulled into a dash.

Ash realized that his rival had grabbed his wrist and they were fleeing from the pack. He didn't know if they would even be able to outrun them and the stinging of his bleeding arm did not make him worry any less. He could hear the panting and growling of the pursuing bunch of pokemon but he tried not to focus on that and just kept running.

Paul made a sharp turn, pulling Ash along and he was sure he heard something in his wrist pop but he didn't say anything. The sounds of the predators decreased only for a moment before they too followed in the sharp turn. Up ahead, Ash could see a body of water, whether it was a river or lake he wasn't sure.

"Hold your breath, we're going to jump."

Ash nodded, even though he knew Paul couldn't see it and as they neared the water, Ash was relieved to see that it was a lake. He didn't need to lose anything else in a rushing stream.

"Don't let go." Paul muttered.

Ash thought he meant "don't let go of your breath" but then the grip on his wrist slid down to his hand and suddenly he felt horrible for thinking Paul would betray him.

They never slowed down, even as the body of water drew closer. Whether intentional or subconsciously, Ash's fingers gave Paul's hand a squeeze before the two of them dove into the chilling lake.


	4. Chapter 4

It felt like a thousand needles pricking his skin when they hit the water. Ash's free arm stung even more as the water attacked his open wound. Momentarily blinded by the rush of bubbles, Ash almost lost his grip on Paul. As his vision cleared up, he was able to see his rival gesture to him with his head to swim farther down.

Above them, they could make out the blurred image of the Mightyena pack. The group of pokemon stopped by the lake's edge and didn't move for a while. Paul kept an eye on the Mightyena and hoped they would leave soon. He eyed Ash's bleeding wound. Staying in water like this was not going to allow it to heal any faster but at least it will flush out anything that might have gotten in.

The two waited for who knows how long and slowly losing oxygen by the second. Until the dark fur of the group of pokemon was out of sight, they dared not to resurface.

Finally, the pair swam to the surface gasping for well needed air. Paul was the one to start swimming back to shore, pulling Ash with him. The raven haired trainer struggled to keep up but his left arm felt numb and it hurt to move. He was so thankful to finally reach land where Paul helped him out of the lake. Ash didn't notice until now that their hands were still clasp together. He felt a little thump in the back of his heart but he just figured it was from the adrenaline of being chased and escaping.

After wringing out his sopping wet jacket and squeezing excess water out of his hair, Paul searched his bag for medical tools. Ash tried to do the same, wincing at the pain when he removed his vest in attempt to let it dry.

"Give me your hand."

Ash didn't question as he moved his arm to let Paul tend to it. It stung a little when his rival cleaned up the openings with the rubbing alcohol but Ash kept quiet and let the other apply the antibiotics and bandages. The raven haired trainer watched Paul clean his wound with the utmost care and he couldn't help but smile.

"What are you smiling about? We're not out of this situation yet."

Ash bit the inside of his cheek, embarrassed for getting caught. He made a fake cough and looked elsewhere.

"I just… er, wanted to say thank you. For all that." He muttered as Paul finished bandaging his wound.

"It's nothing. It's just that you would be even more useless to me if your arm had gotten an infection. Come on, we still have to find somewhere to stay before sun sets. We'll need a fire if we want to dry off the rest of our clothes."

Paul packed up his first aid kit and gathered his things. He was glad he had nothing of importance that was not water proof. The items in his bag were not damaged too badly however the strap on his bag was torn from the tussle with the Mightyena so it was impossible to let it hang off his shoulder. He sighed, tied his jacket around his waist and held the bag in a hand. He turned to see the other struggling to pull his black vest back over his shoulders due to it being wet and sticking together. Rolling his eyes, Paul reached over and yanked it forth.

"Er, thanks." The black haired trainer mouthed with a slight blush on his face. How had he been reduced to being this handicapped?

"Let's get going already. If we don't hurry the Mightyena might find us again."

Ash nodded and made to move but his head suddenly began to feel light headed and he stopped. He heard a humming noise in the back of his head and he felt very sleepy to the point he sank down to his knees. His vision slowly dimmed away.

"P-paul? I feel a little…"

Paul caught him before his head hit the floor. He pulled up the other trainer to his feet but it was useless because the trainer was already unconscious. Paul moved the other's body onto his back so he was able to carry him. With the weight of Ash on him, it would probably take a longer time to find proper shelter. And who was going to help him set up the fire? Paul let out an annoyed growl and continued moving. There was no point in complaining when there were things to get done.

"I thought I told you not to get in my way." He muttered to the body who was not listening.

* * *

When Ash woke up, the sun was beginning to set. The crackle of a fire made him aware of the warmth radiating in front of him. His head still felt like a bowl of liquid ready to spill over but he was able to sit up slowly. Using his left arm to hold himself up was definitely not the best idea because the rush of pain that shot through his forearm. He then noticed that Paul was sitting on the other side of the fire.

Paul looked almost ready to fall asleep with the way he was bowing his head. Ash had to bite back a laugh seeing his rival in that state but then he realized why Paul looked about ready to pass out. The fire looked to be started a while ago with both their jackets laying close by to dry. He noted that his own t-shirt was already dried, as were his pants. His shoes and socks were by the fire as well. Ash wondered how long he had been out. Guilt ate him from the inside thinking about all the work he had his rival do without him.

He got up and went to sit by Paul. The movement woke up his rival who immediately sat up, alert. After realizing who it was that was beside him, the purple haired trainer composed himself.

"You're finally awake. I thought for sure you would have died of pneumonia or infection if the blood loss didn't get you first. I didn't think your body was that weak to go into shock but apparently I was wrong. How pathetic."

"Oh… I'm sorry for causing you all that trouble… ", Ash looked down at his hands. Feeling bad was definitely an understatement. "Even after I promised you that I would stay out of your way and I get you into this mess." He hated breaking promises, even if it was unintentional.

"Save it. I don't want to hear you talk about useless things. Here." Paul tossed an apple at his direction, which Ash caught. "You're going to need more energy to let that injury heal."

"Paul…" Ash stared at his rival. "…I can't take this. This is yours. You helped me enough and I haven't done anything to help you back."

"Will you stop being so stubborn and just eat the damn thing. If we're going to get out of this alive you have to recover." Paul said while poking at the fire with a branch. "You'll only be dragging me down if you get worse."

"Haven't I already been dragging you down? Why did you take me here and all? Couldn't you have just left me with that pack of Mightyena. I would have been less of a hassle that way."

He knew he was talking way too much for his rival's liking but something had been on his mind the whole time and he wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"Why, Paul? I know you don't like me, so, why help me?"

"…Why can't you just leave it alone? I did it because I wanted to. Can we stop talking about this already? You're getting on my nerves."

"That doesn't answer my question at all. Why didn't you leave me when you had the chance to?" Ash asked once again with steely determination.

"…You can never do what I tell you to, huh?" Paul sighed. "Then I'd like to ask the same thing of you then. Why didn't you just leave when I told you to? You probably wouldn't have gotten that injury then." He said, pointing at Ash's bandaged arm.

"I… You were in a bind! I couldn't have just left you with all those Mightyena! And that was after you… after you protected me from them…"

Silence fell over the two for a moment. Ash's head still buzzing with questions.

Paul sighed. "…Fine. I'll just tell you this. There is a reason why a Doduo has two heads."

"…What?" Ash tilted his head to the side.

"You figure it out." Paul muttered as he grabbed the rejected apple and took a bite out of it.

Seeing his rival eat reminded Ash that he was hungry as well and now he regret not taking Paul's offer. He had already eaten his stock of apples and that last one went to warding off the Mightyena. He bit his lip and tried not to stare in the direction of the other trainer. It was just too bad that his stomach decided to give away his predicament.

Laughing awkwardly and still not looking at his rival, Ash got up to his feet and decided to look for his own food. Before he got very far, he felt something small smack him on the back of his head. He turned and caught it with his hands. It was a granola bar, wrapped in silver plastic wrap for to-go purposes.

"I told you to eat. Your injury needs to heal." Paul said, taking another bite of the apple. "You can go look for food in the morning. It's getting dark and it's not very smart to wander around in the woods with no pokemon."

"Ah… Thanks again Paul." Ash was a little angry at himself for having to rely on his rival so much, but so be it if they wanted to leave in one piece.

His thoughts wandered to Pikachu and his pokemon's well-being. Was he okay? Had he escaped Team Rocket? What if he was being handed over to Team Rocket's boss as they spoke? Maybe Brock and Dawn came to the rescue. Or maybe they didn't. Was Pikachu hungry or hurt? Was he also in this kind of situation? So many possibilities and there was nothing Ash could do about it and no way of knowing.

Then it hit Ash like one of Pikachu's Thunder Bolts.

"Paul, what happened to your pokemon?"

He was used to Paul not replying to his questions but there was something about this silence that unnerved him. He was afraid to ask, but it worried him more now that he thought about it.

"…Paul, you don't have your pokemon with you, do you?"

There was another moment of silence.

"…I was wondering how long it would take for you to figure it out." Paul finally answered.

"But, how? Was it Team Rocket?"

"It wasn't Team Rocket."

"Then how? Hunter J? Team Galactic?"

"…It wasn't them either."

"You… you didn't release them all, did you?"

A chill ran down Ash's back from the glare that Paul was giving him. He guessed he went a little too far with that assumption.

"No, I didn't release them all. I was… attacked, in a way." His rival confessed.

"No way! Who could have done this? You weren't hurt too bad were you?"

"…I guess I underestimated the pokemon around here. They're pretty smart." Paul looked off, staring into the fire so he didn't have to watch Ash's curious gaze.

Ash didn't know where this was going at all. Was he talking about the Mightyena?

"I'm talking about the Quagsire that got away. Things might have turned out better if I had been able to catch up to it before."

Flashbacks to the event that lead them to the present played in Ash's head. The raven haired trainer still did not find the connection. How would the capture of a single wild pokemon help the situation at all?

"I don't get it."

"I was trying to capture that Quagsire before I met up with you. It tried to retreat but I followed it and fell right into its trap. The clever thing knew how to get around and jumped me from above. After knocking me out, it stole my pokeballs. When I came to, it had already taken my pokemon. It held them in its mouth while running off. If I had been able to capture it, I would have gotten my pokemon back."

All Ash could do was stare. He vaguely remembered that some Quagsire liked collecting round things but he never thought they would have gone to the extent of stealing trainer's pokemon. Not to mention swallowing the pokeballs the way Paul described it. That Quagsire must have been really angry, Ash thought.

"Oh… So this really is my fault. None of this would have happened if I had been able to stop that Quagsire." Ash bit his lip. "I lost Pikachu and I also lost your pokemon as well. I… I'm sorry Paul. I…" Oh no, he thought. His voice is cracking, his lip is quivering, his eyes are stinging and Ash can't believe he's about to cry in front of Paul, of all people.

"…I don't know why you're blaming yourself. Just focus on getting your Pikachu back. The only reason I stuck with you for so long was so I could get my own pokemon back as well. It's not like I'm asking you to help me. We both need to get something done, so we're just using one another to do it.

The raven haired trainer rubbed away any possibility of tears and swallowed the lump that made his throat dry. If that was how Paul wanted to see things, then he understood why Paul did everything he had done. It wasn't really to help Ash, it was to help Paul. Of course this was more in-character for Paul. And here I thought he might have actually cared for other people, Ash thought bitterly.

The night felt the same as the night before, though the two could hear the howling of Mightyena in the distance. Ash shuddered at the thought of another encounter with the pack. He chewed off the piece of processed snack bar. It was getting dark. Another day gone with no progress made.

After a while, Paul stood up, chucking the apple core into surroundings. He looked like he was about to say something but chose to stare intently at the fire. Moving to the clothes drying out, the trainer picked up his own jacket and waved off the ashes and dirt. He did the same for Ash's vest.

"Here." Paul tossed the dried material to the other. "I'm putting the fire out. Light attracts the wild pokemon. "

Ash nodded and let the other douse the fire with some dirt. With the only light source gone, the world around the trainers suddenly felt a lot bigger and the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees lower. Ash put his vest back on and held his hands to his arms. A click followed by a tube of light coming from the direction that Paul was at pierced through the shadows.

"It's too dark to do anything else. We're retiring for the night. Try not to get eaten."

The silhouette of his rival settled against the trunk of a tree across from the raven haired trainer. Ash didn't move from his spot next to the campfire. It was quiet for a long time and he thought Paul had already fallen asleep.

"Are you going to stay there the whole night? You do realize that just makes you an easier target for roaming pokemon."

"Ah… Paul?"

"What?"

"I can't really see…"

He heard an exasperated sigh and then a click, followed by the tube of light again. Ash headed to where his rival was and sat by the trunk of a tree next to Paul's location. The flashlight clicked off and it was dark once again. Ash leaned against the tree and tried to make himself comfortable. He wished he had his sleeping bag since he hasn't slept so well the last night but there's no point in wishing for things that won't come true.

"Say Paul?"

There was an angry grunt for a reply.

"We were up in a tree yesterday. Why not tonight?"

"Do you really want to climb a tree with that injury? And with you being so unstable, I wouldn't doubt you falling off in the middle of the night. One disabled arm is already a burden; I don't need you breaking anything else."

"Oh."

"…"

Ash pulled the lip of his cap to cover his eyes. Positioning his injured arm closer to him for security, he prepped himself to sleep by letting his thoughts wander. His mind went to recap the day's events and his rival. Even though he knew now that Paul claimed to be using him, Ash was still surprised by the amount of attention he was getting from his rival. Just yesterday, his rival almost refused to acknowledge him but something changed during the course of today. Ash wondered if the incident with the Mightyena might have had anything to do with it.

Subconsciously, Ash gripped his right fist tightly. He still remembered the way Paul had dragged him out of the pack of pokemon. He had to admit that it was kind of cool seeing Paul play the part of a hero, especially on his behalf. He realized that he usually didn't need rescuing and that Ash was usually the one saving others. It was a nice change, he thought, having someone to back you up when you needed it. If only Paul was always that kind and reliable, maybe they could have even been friends.

Friends with Paul? He couldn't really imagine it but that would have been pleasant. Maybe then pokemon battles against him would be more fun and less of proving his worth. Not that Ash had any problems with his confidence but when it came to his rival, he just wanted Paul to recognize him; recognition not only in the sense of a trainer but also as a person. He didn't like how the other would pretend not to know him sometimes or ignore him completely in front of everyone else. Ash wasn't that insignificant, was he?

It had been a long day for the two of them. Even though Ash had been passed out for the past few hours, his body still felt the stress of the entire peril. With continued thoughts on his rival, Ash soon drifted towards the land of sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Paul grunted and shielded his eyes from the sun's early rays. Usually he wouldn't be bothered by the morning sun since the leaves around him would block them out. But he had not slept in his usual spot the night before and it definitely made a difference. Fending off the light seemed futile, so Paul stood up and stretched off his tired limbs. A few extra hours of sleep might have been nice but in their current situation, it was better to move out of their unknown territory quick. He ran a hand through his purple locks to even out his unkempt hair.

He looked over to where the other trainer was. Ash was still unconscious and showed no signs of waking up, despite having the sun light spread out all over him. Paul noted how the boy had his arm cradled around the bandaged limb. He kept his eye on the wounded part, remembering exactly how the injury came to be. Paul could still play back the moment when one of the Mightyena managed to get past his guard and tackled him to the ground. At that time, he was sure the two of them were going to be torn to shreds. Then, Ash retaliated and punted the pokemon away, even defending Paul while he was still down.

Paul glared down at the sleeping boy. If Ash had followed his orders to leave him at the first chance, then he would not have had to worry any more about it. Originally, his plan to have Ash run off was so that Paul would not have to take responsibility for anyone else. He would have been fine fending for himself against the pack if he didn't have to think about protecting Ash as well.

But Ash didn't leave.

Paul was partly angry at the boy for not doing so but every time he saw at the injury he was reminded of how Ash stayed back and protected him. Nobody had ever done anything like that for him and he didn't want to admit it, but his rival's actions stirred something in his heart. Paul quickly dismissed it as gratitude, because he was sure he wasn't impressed by the way Ash had stood up for him. Tired of his own thoughts, he bent down and shook the raven haired trainer by the shoulder.

"Hey, wake up."

"Mnn, a few more minutes Pikachu…" Ash mumbled and made to turn over and return to sleep but then realize he couldn't grab for his sleeping bag. He reached out again and found nothing but air.

"Can you get up already? We have to look for food again, not to mention I have to change your bandages. And I would feel a lot better if we were off Mightyena territory."

Ash immediately snapped out of his sleepy state at the sound of Paul's strict voice. He saw his rival was already up and searching through his bag for something, probably more medical things for his arm. Speaking of his arm, Ash saw that the bandages were slightly stained dark red. The wound probably opened up during the night.

Paul sat next to him with a bottle and his first aid kit. The bandages came off revealing the messy lacerations caked with dried blood. Paul uncapped the bottle and poured the drinking water to clean off the blood. Ash felt his heart sink again watching his rival put up another sacrifice for his sake.

Paul didn't pay any attention to the guilt stricken boy next to him. He could only think about how Ash had shielded him against the pokemon's Bite attack. He made a promise to himself that he would not need help like that again. He didn't need to feel indebted to anyone.

The two sat in silence for the whole duration of the rebandaging of Ash's arm. When Paul was done and repacked everything they needed, he mentioned that they should be looking for more food, to which Ash agreed with. They set off for the woods.

* * *

"I'm sorry Dawn, Brock, but we have not received word of your friend Ash. Officer Jenny has already dispatched a rescue team and they are searching the premises as we speak. I pray that your friend is well. If there is anything I can help, please don't hesitate to ask."

Dawn quietly thanked Nurse Joy and Chansey but that was it. Brock looked at the coordinator with worry.

"Dawn, I'm sure he's fine and Pikachu is with him as well. Maybe he found a shed or cave to stay at for the night. He's a tough trainer and he's been through a lot. I think the only thing we might have to worry about is him being hungry. But when he does come back, I'll be sure to cook him all his favorite foods."

"But… I can't help but worry…" Dawn whispered. She held Piplup a little tighter to which the penguin patted her arm in reassurance.

"If you want, we can go and look again."

The coordinator nodded and looked hopefully at the breeder. Brock nodded back. The two grabbed their bags and headed out the sliding doors of the Pokemon Center.

* * *

Ash's stomach rumbled for the fourth time in the last five minutes. He tried to keep it hidden from his rival by rustling through the bushes extra hard, but he was sure Paul heard it anyway. He sighed. He didn't remember food ever being so difficult to find. Apples were pretty common along the trails but that was probably because it was a road more traveled by other trainers. Outside of the trails, Ash would be lucky if he was able to find some berries or anything that was not grass.

"Oh!" Ash piped as he spread out another bush to find it populated with berries.

Ash was not a coordinator, thus, not a berry expert, but he knew if Pokemon were able to eat them, so could he. He plucked one of the red berries, examining its odd shape. It reminded him of a baseball glove or a bunch of bananas or a scallop of a sea otter? He sniffed at it cautiously. It smelled ripe enough.

Just as Ash was about to take a bite out of it, Paul popped out from the trees and asked if he had found anything. He waved his rival over and asked the other to take a look at the berry.

"…Do you know what flavor it is?" Paul asked.

"Flavor?" Ash asked slowly. Again, he was not a berry expert, but he did slightly remember there being a characteristic difference between the berries. Did it matter what flavor it was? As long as it was edible, it was food to him.

The two trainers stared at the berry, hoping the other knew a bit more on it. The rumble of stomachs echoed past the two, reminding them that they were kind of desperate at the moment.

Paul broke off a piece of it. The red color of the flesh might have indicated a Spicy flavor, but one really could not tell basing off only color. The Veilstone trainer glanced over at the Pallet trainer. Ash caught the stare and nodded. He broke off another piece for the raven haired boy and the two made a mental countdown.

They both dropped a piece of berry into their mouth at the same time. The chewing of the fragments seemed to take forever. Finally, Paul swallowed, followed by Ash with tears welling in his eyes.

"Well, that was…" Ash rasped.

If Ash wasn't trying to erase the taste off his own tongue, he would be laughing at the face Paul was making. The flavor was definitely Spicy but with a mix of something else unpleasant that he could only name as Bitter. Of all the berries Ash had picked up, it had to have the worst combination of flavors. The fiery taste still remained on his tongue and he was sure he felt its heat as it traveled down his esophagus.

"We should probably find something else to eat." Paul finally said after recovering from the alarming taste.

Ash nodded wordlessly and followed his rival as they stepped over the mystery berry bush. He vowed to himself to read up on berries if he ever made it back to civilization.

* * *

The two finally found some proper edible berries later in the day. Unfortunately, they could only take as much as they could hold, which was not as much as Ash would have liked. They also did not have a lot of time to sit and relax due to the uneasiness of having another encounter with the Mightyena pack.

Ash crunched on another Pecha berry, even though his appetite had long been satiated. He already had some in his pocket for future eats but his hands still held some so that he would not have to go through another Berry hunt in a long time.

Paul had nothing to say, but he was glad they were able to find food. Not that he doubted they would since he knew Pokemon needed to eat as well. While they walked, he had noticed something different in the path they were taking. His sneakers squeaked under the grass and he could tell the ground was wet. There had not been any rain recently, so it could only mean that the area they were entering had a lot of water. Paul had traveled through many areas and he could not think of anywhere else in Sinnoh that was as muddy as this. Just the thought of nearing Pastoria City gave him the most relief he's needed in the past three days.

The Veilstone trainer could hear his rival sloshing in the wet grass behind him. The transition from dirt to mud didn't bother Paul at all but Ash was different story. The raven haired trainer thought it was his imagination at first but after almost slipping on the mushy ground for the third time he finally figured out that they were headed for a swampy area. He glanced at his rival to see how the other was doing, and Paul seemed not to notice the grime splashing all over his pants as he walked through the mud with no problems.

Shoving the rest of the berries in his already filled pockets, Ash made to catch up with his rival by taking huge steps. The result of that was him falling straight into Paul's back when his sneaker was swallowed by a particularly deep pit. With a yelp, Ash's reflexes brought his arms around Paul's waist to hold himself up. Said rival did not expect any of the like to happen and his sturdy balance was thrown off. Paul teetered a little to the side before they both lost their equilibrium and were sent crashing into the cold wet dirt.

Ash was quick to remove his arms from the other and apologized immediately. As he struggled to get up, his hand sunk into another squishy gap all the way up to his shoulder, which brought his face into the mud. The trainer cried internally and wondered why this was happening to him and what he had done to deserve such treatment. He picked himself out of the mud another time, this time slowly so that he wouldn't have another chance of falling again. Ash's hat had tumbled off from the first landing and settled where Paul was recovering. If Paul was angry, he made no notion of it.

Ash rubbed the grime off his face with his clean shirt sleeve. He could see his rival sitting up and turning towards him. The raven haired trainer inwardly swallowed. He had messed up in front of Paul, again. He swore he was not that clumsy and it just happened that his rival was always around when he was. No wonder Paul thought he was useless and pathetic.

What surprised him was when the other trainer wordlessly handed back his dropped hat. Ash took it generously and moved to replace it on his head. He hadn't noticed the other staring at him until he looked up and caught his rival's eyes, to which Paul quickly turned away.

And then Paul coughed. Or at least it sounded like a cough in Ash's ears until he heard it again. He thought he saw a smile on his rival's face but Paul quickly covered it with his clean hand. Another muffled choke came from the Veilstone trainer and this time Ash swore it sounded something like a snort.

"Paul…? Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine." His rival quickly answered before shifting aside to hide another "cough".

"…Paul… Are you laughing?"

"…No…" Paul answered curtly while his shoulders shook and he held his stomach all while trying to face away from the other.

And by then, Ash was pretty sure Paul was laughing. At what, he could only guess was at him, but it didn't really cross Ash's mind as a condescending act. Just the thought that he made his stone cold rival Paul laugh brought a smile to his own lips.

"You look like a mess." Paul finally said after regaining his usual posture.

"Well, so do you." Ash mentioned.

"Since the place is so muddy, there should be a source of water nearby it all. We can probably clean up there."

Ash nodded and the two rose from the slowly warming mud.

"I'm sorry about that. I'm always making trouble for you." The Pallet trainer apologized once again. He wondered how many strikes he had marked on Paul's list of annoyance. He knew Paul probably was being as patient as he could be with him and Ash just hoped it wouldn't run out before they parted ways.

He visibly flinched when Paul turned around again. Ash held his breath, waiting for some angry retort or something but all he saw was his rival holding his hand out to him. He blinked twice, three times before his eyes traveled to Paul's neutral expression.

"If I can keep my eye on you, maybe you'll be less trouble for me."

The Veilstone trainer made a motion with his hand, but this time, Ash saw that Paul's eyes had averted elsewhere. The only possible conclusion Ash could draw was that Paul wanted him to take his hand.

"You obviously don't know how to walk in mud. You're supposed to use the heels of your feet so you won't slip as easily. If you walk next to me I can tell you what you're doing wrong."

Well, at least he knew the other's motive now. Swallowing his anxiousness, Ash picked up his free hand and held it over his rival's. He didn't understand why he was so nervous, since they had held hands just the other day. The situation was obviously different but for some reason, it still made his heart beat fast and his ears pound. Ash could feel the warmth radiating from Paul's hand. Their fingers brushed for a split second and Ash thought his chest might explode.

"Ugh, stop wasting time. Let's go."

With that, Paul grabbed Ash's hand and swiftly turned around before Ash could open his mouth to say anything. Ash wasn't the best in reading another person's mood, but even he knew something was up with Paul. He could tell by the way his rival held his shoulders that Paul did not have as much confidence has he had a while ago. Ash wasn't sure if it was the same reason he had hesitated moments ago, but a part of him was reassured that he was not the only one with strange mood swings.

Paul on the other hand was glad for once that his hair was long enough to cover his ears, because he was pretty sure they were bright red now. What had come over him? Moments ago, Ash had the most ridiculous look on his face that he couldn't help but laugh. Paul could not remember the last time he had done such a thing. And now he had willingly held out a hand to his rival. He could not explain it, but his chest was feeling really warm and he actually felt… content. Well, as content as this situation allowed him to be. It scared him a little thinking about it but Paul wondered when he had been able to accept Ash into his comfort zone.


	6. Chapter 6

The two lost trainers eventually found a tiny spring they could use to wash off their mud soaked clothes. The spring was hidden by the forest shrubbery but there was enough room for them to sit around it and still be hidden from sight. Paul reminded the other that they should not spend so much time on cleaning up, since they still needed to cross more mud anyway. As they rubbed off the dirt and grime from their jackets, Ash noticed the ripples in the water and he took a moment to stare.

He continued to scrub his vest clean but only half heartedly. The water reminded him of how he and Pikachu were fetching water before Paul and the Quagsire had showed up. Speaking of Quagsire, Ash wondered about the well-being of Paul's pokemon. If the Quagsire truly did swallow the pokeballs, how long did it take for it to digest? His eyes widened. What if Paul's pokemon were no longer around?

"Paul?"

"What?"

"Aren't you worried about your pokemon?"

Paul paused in rinsing his jacket. He raised an eyebrow at Ash.

"I mean, all this time, you don't look worried. Even before I knew that your pokemon were gone, you looked so calm. Do you… not care what happened to your team?"

"Of course I do."

Ash noticed how rough Paul's answer had come out. The other had quickly resumed his washing as if Ash had never stopped him for a question.

"But I think I have to worry about myself first. Worrying over something that isn't there is a waste of time."

Ash had not expected an answer like that from Paul. There was something in his rival's tone of voice that sounded like reassurance. Whether it was himself or Ash that Paul was trying to reassure, the raven haired boy did not know. Ash thought it was his imagination, but Paul looked different. The Veilstone trainer didn't have his eyebrows scrunched up and his lips were not held in a scowl like they usually were. He could not put a finger on it, but Paul had changed somehow.

"So you won't be… sad if you never saw your pokemon again?"

"…Why would I be sad? If anything, I would be annoyed that all my hard work was gone."

Paul finished wringing out his jacket and flung it out to unravel it out. Ash seemed to have forgotten about washing his clothes. His gaze never moved from his rival. Paul seemed to have noticed the stare. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"But… They'll be okay. I trained them after all. If they don't know how to save themselves, they're not my pokemon."

Ash blinked. He had thought Paul was going to tell him how his team was replaceable but hearing those words from the other, Ash knew he had gotten Paul's character all wrong. The Pallet trainer was secretly glad that Paul was not the mean and uncaring trainer that Paul would often portray to the others. He had always thought there was good in everyone, especially those that interact with Pokemon. He knew Paul was not a bad person.

"…So you really do care about them." Ash whispered, not being able to hide his grin.

"What kind of pokemon trainer would I be if I didn't have any pokemon? I kind of need them, don't I?"

The Pallet trainer nodded, even though his rival was not looking at him. Despite the current situation they were in, Ash could feel his spirits lifting, and suddenly, everything was not as bad as he thought it was. The time he spent with Paul might have been torturous at first but if it meant being able to see a different side to the Veilstone trainer, Ash didn't mind at all.

Paul had wondered why the other boy had asked him something so useless, but he should have known how Ash was like. The other trainer could be a pain when he wanted to lecture about how to treat pokemon "properly", but Paul understood that it truly reflected Ash's passion towards pokemon and the ones he cared for. The Pallet boy might not have the power to defeat him in battles (for now) but there was a deep strength in Ash that Paul clearly fell behind in. The Veilstone trainer claimed to be detached from that kind of relationship with both pokemon and humans alike but after being stuck with Ash for such a long time, he could say the boy influenced him.

Ash finally finished rinsing off his jacket. He wondered if he had time to clean off his pants as well but he figured they were going to get soiled later anyway. His hair was crusty from the dried mud and it itched under his hat. Deciding that he might as well get that taken care of, Ash held his breath and dunked his head into the spring (after removing his hat of course). After getting his whole scalp scrubbed, Ash flung his head back and shook off the excess water.

"Hey, watch it!"

"Oops, sorry, hehe."

The boy smiled sheepishly and looked comparable to a Luxio, or so Paul thought. The Veilstone trainer shook his head from the mental image but for some reason he continued to stare at the water dripping down Ash's tan neck. Paul swallowed the nervous lump that accumulated in his throat and looked away. What was that all about?

"Should we stay until these dry or should we just keep going? What do you think Paul?"

"We should leave as soon as possible. The faster we can find civilization, the better."

Ash thought Paul sounded kind of desperate and a little frustrated, but he didn't give it too much thought; Ash wanted to find his friends just as bad.

* * *

Things went pretty smoothly after leaving the spring. There were several clearings of grass that the two were able to rest on when they got tired of sloshing through mud the whole day. Lunch consisted of more berries and fruits but neither complained. Ash even thought the Rawst berries tasted a little sweeter though he remembered them tasting bitter earlier in the day.

Ash had adjusted to walking carefully in the mud but he continued to hold onto Paul. He hoped Paul didn't mind, since he was the one that offered in the first place, but Ash had gotten used to the feel of his rival's hand in his and he rather liked it. Pikachu was not on his shoulder, but at least he had Paul to keep from getting too lonely.

Paul, however, was thinking of reconsidering his plan since he had noticed Ash looked quite content with it all. He honestly did just want to make sure the other wasn't getting into trouble and he hoped the raven haired boy had not thought Paul had any hidden objectives. Not that Paul knew if Ash even thought like that, but he could never be too sure.

Too wrapped up in his thoughts, Paul took a step too far out and the heel of his shoe rolled against something causing him to lose his balance. He was sure he was about to go down again but the tug on his left hand reminded him that Ash was connected to him. Ash was caught off guard but regained enough sense to hold his stance and pull Paul back up into place. The two barely had time to evaluate what had happened when a roar coming from where Paul had tripped caught their attention.

"GEO! GEODUDE!"

The grey rock pokemon emerged from its hiding place under the mud. From its expression, the two could tell it was angry for being disturbed.

Paul thought quickly and grabbed a pokeball from his pocket. He found it a little strange that they had not encountered any pokemon since the Mightyena. Geodude were pretty common but the two were kind of desperate and any kind of assistance from a pokemon would help. The ball grew in size when he pressed the button and just as he was about to lob it at the Geodude, he felt a hand grab his arm.

"What are you doing?!" Paul snapped.

"I was going to ask you the same thing! Why do you need to catch this Geodude? Knowing you, you're going to release it anyway!"

"We need all the help we can get. Even if it's weak, at least we won't be completely defenseless."

The Geodude lost its patience and scooped up a small stone from the mud and chucked it at the arguing trainers. The two were able to dodge the attack but continued to dispute over the action.

"Paul, please, let me try! Can you trust me for once?"

The Veilstone trainer narrowed his eyes. Could he trust him? He had no idea what Ash was planning but he had enough with fighting with him. He knew how stubborn the raven haired boy could be so Paul just stood back and put the pokeball away. Ash smiled gratefully at his rival.

"Geodude, please listen to me! We didn't mean to disturb you, it was an accident. We got lost in this forest so we have no idea where we're going." Ash held out his arms as if to show that he had nothing to hide. "Really Geodude, we're really sorry. We didn't mean to intrude in your home. Please believe me!"

The rock pokemon seemed to have heard Ash's words and lowered the rock that it was about to throw. Ash took a chance and stepped forward in the Geodude's direction.

"Thanks for listening Geodude. I know you probably don't see a lot of humans around here, but I was hoping you would know a way out of this forest?"

The Geodude looked thoughtful and pointed at a direction to the east. Ash memorized the direction and thanked the pokemon. Before allowing it to leave, Ash shuffled in his pockets and pulled out a few berries to offer to the rock pokemon.

"Geodude! Geo!"

"That's for helping us. Thanks Geodude!"

Geodude appreciated the berries, carrying them off in its arms in the opposite direction. When it was gone, Paul walked over to Ash, who looked mighty pleased with himself.

A few days ago, Paul would have chastised Ash for letting the pokemon escape and giving away half of their rations. However, the Paul today chose to let it slide, especially seeing how happy the other looked. He wasn't sure when he noticed it, but Ash's smile was quite charming. It was kind of childish, full of innocence and spunk, but that pretty much described Ash. The Veilstone boy did recall several times when Ash would direct a grin towards him but Paul always found a way to erase it. He wondered why he could not stop staring at it now.

"Well, I guess you're not so useless after all."

"See! I know what I'm doing!"

"Okay, don't let it go to your head."

Ash pouted but he was still glad he got some praise from Paul. Through the entire journey, Ash had been continually letting the other down. He was sure Paul was tired of it, because he himself was tired of it as well. Hopefully this was enough for some sort of amendment.

"Come on, let's go."

It disappointed him that Paul had already put Ash's past action behind him. Ash secretly hoped the other would praise him a bit more, but he knew that was already asking for too much. He quickly joined up with Paul and they headed in the direction pointed out to them.

* * *

Three tired sighs were let out but went unheard due to the altitude they were in. After recovering from their usual blast off, Team Rocket had spent the next couple of days repairing the Meowth head balloon and reforming a plan for capturing the brat's Pikachu. The former of the tasks were completed but the latter was still a work in progress. The growling of a stomach echoed between the three friends.

"Jessie, I'm hungry… Do we have anything left in our storage?"

The only female of the triad grumbled angrily at James. She was hungry as well but she had enough pride to keep it to herself. It was one of her better days when she didn't feel like being pampered.

"No James, we do not. Unless a fridge suddenly fell from the sky or Pikachu decides to willingly join up with us, we will not have food until the next town we go to."

James only rolled his head to the side and let out another tired sigh. He was resting his head in his arms which were propped over the side of the balloon basket in some sad attempt to keep vigilance for Pikachu or the brats. The stinging pang in his stomach was something he was familiar with ever since he joined the team but it still did not hold him back from asking.

"Quit ya' yapping you's two and keep a look out for anything yellow and Pikachu shaped!"

Meowth whipped his eyes back into the binoculars he was spying into. All he saw though were the greens of trees when he wasn't looking at the browns of the mud covered ground. Spotting a Pikachu in this kind of terrain should be a piece of cake but so far, that cake seemed to be a lie. Just as the Scratch Cat pokemon was about to bark more orders at his human companions, he spotted a dot of red and purple. Looking back into the binoculars, Meowth made out the figures of the main brat and the other mean looking one.

"Jessie! James! Twerps spotted below!"

At the call of their name, the two other Rocket members jumped to their feet and prepared to lower the balloon to make their grand entrance. What they were planning to do once they made their presence known, they could think about it later.

* * *

"…You know, you can let go of my hand if you're okay with walking by yourself."

Ash blushed furiously when Paul suddenly brought their linked hands to attention.

"W-well, I wasn't completely sure of myself and I didn't want to trip again. I was hoping it would be okay to use each other as a… a stabilizer or something."

The raven haired boy laughed awkwardly after finally pulling his hand away from his rival's grasp. He did notice that it did not drop as easily as it would if it was just a one sided clasp, but Ash didn't mention anything. Paul looked away, shuffling across the mud.

"Dustox! Poison Sting!"

The two trainers barely had time to register the additional voice and what was being called when a barrage of poison needles shot at their direction. Ash jumped backwards while Paul landed not too far from him. The two looked up and spotted the floating Meowth head balloon.

"Listen, is that a voice I hear?"

"It's speaking to me loud and clear!"

"On the wind!" "Past the Star!" "In your ear!"

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace."

"Dashing hope, putting fear it its place."

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

"When everything is worse, our work is complete."

"Jessie!" "James!" "And Meowth, dat's a name!"

"Putting those do-gooders in their place…"

"…We're Team Rocket!"

"In your face!"

"Team Rocket! You better give me back Pikachu!"

The trio in the balloon basket looked at one another. Jessie laughed and pointed at the two.

"What are you talking about, twerp? We're here to take Pikachu from _you_. If we had Pikachu, we wouldn't be here." She shrugged her shoulders as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Thinking about it again, she turned to her two male companions.

"…Meowth, what _are_ we doing here? I thought you said Pikachu was here."

"No Jessie, I just said I spotted some twoips. I never said nuttin' about Pikachu."

"That's right Jessie, we were supposed to be looking out for Pikachu or the twerps, and we found the twerps. I guess they haven't found Pikachu yet, so that means we should still keep looking."

Ash wasn't sure if the conversation between the gang was supposed to be a private matter, but he heard what he needed to hear. If Team Rocket was still looking for Pikachu, that meant that Pikachu somehow broke free from them and is somewhere out there. It didn't wash all the worry away since Pikachu could still be lost or hurt in the woods somewhere, but at least Ash knew he was not in the clutches of Team Rocket.

"Come on, let's get out of here before they realize anything."

Ash nodded with agreement to Paul's plan and the two hurried as fast as they could out of Team Rocket's sight. Unfortunately, it was not quick enough because the trio recovered from their bickering and attacked again.

"Fine, if they don't have Pikachu, and we stopped for nothing, might as well make use of it." Jessie growled impatiently. "Dustox, Poison Sting again! If we kidnap the brats, maybe we can get Pikachu in a trade off."

James threw out Carnivine's pokeball, dealt with it trying to eat his head and then commanded it to use Bullet Seed.

Ash did his best to avoid the barrage of attacks but the wetness of the ground made it difficult to dodge. Paul was struggling as well and Ash wondered if the two would be able to make it out okay. After their twist of bad luck to good, he had hoped it would have stayed that way. Trust Team Rocket to put a damper in their day.

Ash saw a stray of poison pins hit Paul on the shoulder, making his rival flinch and unable to dodge the set of oncoming Bullet Seed.

"Paul!" Ash rushed to the fallen trainer and threw himself over Paul to shield him from the seemingly endless attacks.

"What-" Paul grunted at the additional weight over him. He realized it was Ash but before he could react, a thick vine wrapped around his back and constricted him against the other trainer. Ash cried out as well and suddenly, the two felt their feet leave the ground.

"We just caught us some twerps, hooray!" Jessie celebrated.

Carnivine lifted the two boys into the balloon basket where the human Rocket members tied the two back to back. Ash struggled against the ropes but that only worked in agitating his injured arm. He slumped against Paul's back for a moment and then noticed a lack of motion from the other boy.

"Paul? Are you okay?"

"I'm… fine…"

Ash bit his lip. He didn't sound okay at all, he thought. Were the ropes too tight or did something happen? Ash replayed the last few minutes in his head when he remembered that Paul got hit by Dustox's Poison Sting.

"Paul, you're poisoned! We need to get you help."

There was just a slight shake in the other boy's head as a response. Ash wasn't sure what that meant, but he wasn't going to let Paul sit there with poison running through him.

"Hey, my friend is hurt because of you guys! Let us go so I can help him!"

Meowth turned to their captives with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice try twoip, I've heard that one before."

Ash glared at the Scratch Cat pokemon then turned his attention to the two humans.

"Jesse, it was your Dustox's poison that hurt him! You better help him or he's going to be in a really bad condition! Don't you care what happens?"

Jesse pouted and mumbled something that sound liked "Hey, don't blame me," while James looked a little guilty. Meowth glared to his team mates then back at the boys.

"Well, unfoitunately, we don't have any type-a antidotes or nuttin on us. So even if we wanted to help yas- which we don't-we can't."

Ash 's intense gaze on the trio didn't waver, but the three couldn't stand against it and all faced another direction. With a sigh, Ash dropped his shoulders, feeling Paul lean back against him.

"I'm sorry Paul, I tried. What else can I do?"

"…Pecha… berry…" Paul whispered.

That's right! There were certain berries that Pokemon held and ate that took away certain conditions. Ash reached for his pockets and rummaged through the assortments of berries before he found the peach shaped poison cure. He placed it on the floor of the balloon basket and pulled himself forward so that Paul slid into reach with the berry.

"Can you reach it?"

There was movement against his back again and he could hear the crunching of the berry.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"…Yeah." There was a pause. "…Thanks."

Ash sighed with relief knowing that Paul would be okay now. The next thing to do was to get them out of these ropes and somehow off the balloon. This wasn't the first time he had been taken captive by Team Rocket, but he couldn't remember if he had to ever escape from the balloon. He also had his pokemon to help him back then but now it was just him and Paul. No matter, they had gone through so much together so far, this was just another obstacle.

While the brunette plotted escape, Paul had recovered from his poison condition. The poison had put him out of commission and Ash had helped him again. He thought he told himself that he wanted the least amount of assistance from the other but somehow it didn't bother him the slightest that he had accepted the Pecha berry. Well, it was either his health or pride at risk. He sighed.

"So what's the plan?"

Ash bowed his head. He didn't have much of a clue as to what they were going to do. He didn't want to wait around in hopes of someone rescuing them. He took another look at their surroundings but Team Rocket's balloon didn't hold much aside from the occupants and some balloon equipment that he didn't know what to do with.

And then Ash's sight detected something in the sky. He didn't want to allow his heart to spark up in hope but when Paul nudged him to get his attention on the very thing, a little part of him knew they would be okay. The thing in the sky drew closer to the balloon. It made sure to fly away from Team Rocket's line of sight.

As it closed in, Ash was able to see that it was a pokemon. It was a bird pokemon and from the curl on its head, it was clearly identified as a Staravia. It's beady gaze met with Ash's eyes and then Ash let out a sigh. It was _his_ Staravia! Brock and Dawn probably sent it out to look for him.

Paul watched as the bird pokemon silently swooped in the vicinity of the Rocket's balloon. It landed right next to them where it started to peck at their ropes. He heard Ash's low whispers of encouragement as it nearly broke through their bindings.

Just as the last few pecks were set, Meowth turned around and spotted the new arrival near their captives.

"Hey! Wadda ya think you're doing?!"

Paul and Ash were able to pull away from the weakened ropes around them and then stood free. Jessie and James noticed Meowth's distress and turned to see their hostages had escaped.

"How did you twerps get free?!"

"Starrrr stararvia!"

"Well it doesn't matter, you're still in our turf, so don't think you can get away so easily!"

Ash stood ready with Staravia hovering by his shoulder. Jessie pulled out Seviper's pokeball while James held Carnivine's. As soon as the two release their pokemon, all trainers were forced back against the edges of the basket.

"Gaaah! You idiots! There isn't enough room for all of ya! Jessie! James! Do something!"

As all the passengers on board tried to reclaim some personal space, Paul took a look at how far off the balloon managed to bring them away from their destination. They were pretty high off the ground and below them consisted of nothing by dirt. They would have been able to use the tree branch tactic if the forest were any closer. The probability of dropping off this height unscathed looked slim, Paul calculated.

While his partner was plotting, Ash managed to shove a Seviper tail off him. A squeal came from Jessie when she felt added pressure on her hip, so she lifted her leg to smash whatever it was. James felt the kick to his head from within Carnivine's mouth causing him to lose balance and grab onto the nearest thing to hold himself. Unfortunately, it happened to be Meowth's tail that he grabbed. With a screech, Meowth reared his claws and scratched whoever was in front of him. Paul suddenly felt a tear in his right sleeve and winced at the claws that dug into his skin.

"Meow- Hey! Whadda ya think you're doing?!"

The scratch cat pokemon wailed in surprise when his furry arm was tugged at and he was pulled forward. And then Meowth found himself face to face with the scary twerp. He swallowed the nervous lump in his throat from the glare Paul bored into him. Meowth struggled to get his arm back but then he realized that his feet were not being supported by anything.

"I'm not afraid of letting go. If you want to live, you will lower this balloon." Paul spoke lowly.

"Jessie! James! HEEEELP!" Meowth wailed at the top of his lungs.

Paul flinched at the sudden outburst. His grip on Meowth loosened a little and he felt the pokemon in his hands flinch. Paul actually did not intend on dropped the pokemon, but a small threat didn't hurt if it would get them free at the end. He could sense the panic of the cat but he wasn't able to see if the other members of the gang were responding.

Staravia was pecking at Jessie's head at Ash's command. The female Rocket member screamed and flailed, hoping the attack on her hair would stop. While she was distracted, Seviper attempted to grab a hold on the twerp that was harassing his owner. His tail only managed to strike Carnivine, which finally freed James from his prison but also worked in knocking the Bug Catcher pokemon off the side of the basket.

"VIIIIIINE!"

"Carnivine, no!"

James managed to grab hold of one of the vines that the grass type extended to save itself. The other vine held onto the metal frame to support itself. Ash was closest to its second vine. An idea sparked in his head.

"Paul!"

Paul looked over to the other trainer. His hostage still squirmed in his hands but no one else in the basket seemed to notice the situation that Paul had set up. Ash motioned to him and held a hand out. He saw Ash grab onto Carnivine's Vine Whip, pulling it off from the metal frame.

The vine in his fingers tightened around his palm in panic. Ash nodded in satisfaction and looked back to meet Paul's gaze. He hoped the other understood what he was thinking. Using Vine Whip to move around was something he had done before, though Ash never had to use the opponent's pokemon to do it.

"Hey! Wadda you twerps plotting? Jessie! Do something! Save me!"

"Be quiet Meowth! Can't you see my hair is under attack? Kyaaa!" Jessie batted at the Staravia that hovered over her scalp.

"Guys! Carnivine is in trouble!"

Paul pulled the Scratch Cat pokemon up, locking his arm over the cat's neck in a chokehold. He grabbed Ash's hand.

There were multiple screams that came from the balloon as the two boys leapt over the edge of the balloon basket. One of them came from the pokemon hostage that Paul brought with him. The other came from Carnivine that suddenly felt additional weight at the other end of his vine. James started screaming as well, seeing his pokemon was holding onto the twerps and Meowth that were currently dangling in mid air.

"Meowth!"

"James! HAAAAAALP!"

With all the screaming going on, Paul definitely thought he should reevaluate his plan.

"Paul, you're really heavy…"

The Veilstone trainer threw a glare at his companion, but then he realized that Ash was holding up him, Meowth and his own body weight with just one arm. His other arm was still weak from the Mightyena bite. The Carnivine that James was trying to pull up also seemed to be in pain. James was nearly toppling over the edge of the basket just trying to keep them all suspended. Paul wasn't sure what Ash was thinking by jumping over, but the vines they were hanging on were not even a margin close to getting them back on the ground.

"Meow! Let me go!"

Paul chuckled darkly. "You really want me to let go? Fine, that'll just make things easier for us."

Meowth's eyes widened and then he realized the absurdity of his request. His feet were still dangling miles above the ground. He shrunk back against the twerp that held him.

"No no! Don't let go, I'm poifectly fine where I am."

Ash let out a grunt. Okay, this was not how he had imagined their escape. He was hoping Carnivine would extend its Vine Whip lower to relieve the extra burden of the two (and Meowth) but it either was too panicked to think about it or didn't want to let them get away. He felt the vine's grip on him loosening bit by bit but Ash would not let his hold on Paul slacken, even though his injured arm was starting to throb again.

"Ash."

The brunette gasped at his rival's call of his name. He could hear undertones of concern that usually wasn't there. He looked down at Paul who held onto his wrist. Ash bit down on his lower lip as he felt the vine on his other hand slowly slip away.

"Paul."

The rival looked up at the apologetic smile on Ash's face.

"I'm sorry. I messed up again."

As soon as the words left his lips, Ash's hold on Carnivine slid away from him. Paul's first instinct was to grab the vine again but the pokemon in his arms hindered it. Meowth opened his mouth to scream again but then he was released from Paul's chokehold. He felt a tug on the scruff of his fur and suddenly he was flying. The scream left his open mouth but instead of flying down like he thought he was, Meowth found himself heading towards the balloon. Carnivine came into view, where the cat pokemon clung onto the head of the plant pokemon. He looked down at where the twerps were supposed to be hanging but all he saw was the clean vine of Carnivine.

"STAARRRRRR!"

* * *

Brock looked away from where Sudowoodo and Croagunk were searching at the sound of the piercing cry. Dawn also stood away from the tree trunk she pulled Pachirisu out from. They had let out all of their pokemon in mass search for Ash and Pikachu. None of Ash's current pokemon had superb olfactory senses so they were unable to track the trainer by scent. Staravia was their best bet by searching the skies.

Staravia was not with them, after doing a quick run over, which meant that the bird had probably found something. They turned to look at the other and then nodded. All the other pokemon seemed to understand what was going on and headed in the direction of the cry.

The pokemon breeder and coordinator rushed out of the forest and into a wetter environment. In the distance, they could see something in the sky.

"Is that?"

"Team Rocket!"

Dawn gasped as she also noticed two figures falling away from the Meowth head balloon. Buizel and Turtwig were able to recognize their trainer from the far distance and started running towards him. But despite their efforts, they knew they were too far away to do anything. As Brock was about to call out to his friend, a mighty swirl of leaves pushed passed them, almost knocking him over. 

* * *

Ash looked down at the muddy ground approaching them. He turned to the hand that still held his and then finally met Paul's grey eyes.

"We seem to fall a lot don't we?" Ash shouted past the winds rushing up against them.

"They were both your fault." Paul answered but he didn't look angry.

Ash felt water leak from the edges of his eyes as he looked at Paul in despair. He reached his other hand towards his rival and to his surprise, Paul grabbed it. With their hands linked, they were leveled with their bellies aimed downward.

"Well, I guess we're going down together."

"I'm surprised we even made it this far. You seemed to like getting me into a lot of trouble."

"Like now?" Ash tried to laugh but his vision was blurring. He could barely make out Paul in front of him but he kept his eyes trained on his rival instead of the perilous landing that was inevitable.

"Yeah." Paul's lip twitched upward. "You're so useless."

Ash let out one small laugh before he closed his eyes. He shouldn't allow himself to give up, not now. Ash Ketchum never gave up on anything. He couldn't think though, nothing was coming to mind. Just the feeling of air pushing passed him and Paul's fingers entwined with his own had him think about what he could have done to prevent all this.

He heard Paul call his name out again and Ash opened his eyes.

There was a different set of wind pushing against them now. Paul noticed the swirling of leaves that came with the gale. Ash found that they were slowing in their descent downward. They were able to straighten themselves out, though the gusts still pushed their hair and shirts up. Their feet eventually touched something but it didn't feel like the dirt ground.

And then the gale was gone and gravity worked at normal pace. Ash landed on his back against something mossy and Paul by his side. His shoulder met with a tree branch.

"Torrr…"

The trainers sat up from their rumbling landing spot. Paul recognized the three spikes covered in moss in an instant. He sighed and patted the shell of his Torterra that had saved them from becoming splattered meat and bones. Paul almost fell off the side of the Continent pokemon when Ash had flung himself onto his rival.

"We made it Paul! I don't know how, but we did it!"

"Pikapi! Pika!"

The Veilstone trainer felt Ash stiffen and in an instant, the warmth of Ash against him leaned away to face the new cry. He spotted the yellow mouse on his Murkrow drawing closer.

"Pikachu? Pikachu! You're okay!"

Ash felt tears fall freely as his best friend jumped into his arms. Pikachu was okay. Pikachu was safe and fine. And so was he. They all managed to make it out all right.

"Ash!"

Brock and Dawn raced over to the Torterra that carried the two trainers. They were a little surprised to see Paul with their friend, though neither of them mentioned anything about it. Ash's pokemon also leapt forward, calling out to their trainer to assure that he was okay.

Murkrow landed on Paul's shoulder and let out a small caw. She fluffed out her feathers and dropped the pokeballs she had been holding on her person. Paul picked up each ball and secured them where they were normally stored. Murkrow was surprised when her trainer reached over and scratched under her beak. She was even more shocked when he muttered a low "Thank you" to her. Torterra chuckled underneath them.

"Hey, don't think you twerps can get away with this!"

All trainers turned their heads to see Team Rocket had lowered their balloon straightened themselves out. Paul let out a sigh while Ash groaned. Dawn and Brock however stood forward with their pokemon by their side.

"We got this Ash, you stay there and rest while we take of these guys."

"Pika!"

It was barely a few minutes but Brock was able to send Team Rocket flying after Croagunk took care of them and Dawn had Pachirisu Spark them away. Ash just collapsed on his back as the gang flew off across the horizon and away from sight. He was so tired, mentally and physically. His eyes watched as Paul lay down next to him, probably thinking the same. Pikachu crawled up to his side and nuzzled his red cheek against Ash's.

"Well, that's the end of that."

"Mhm…"

Ash nodded as his eyelids drooped and his head fell facing Paul. The other trainer had a smile on his face, a genuine smile. Or at least that's what Ash thought he saw when he last closed his eyes and fell into deep slumber.


	7. Chapter 7

When Ash woke up, it was dark outside. He blinked away any amounts of sleep that still clung to his eyes and sat up. He could see that Pikachu had taken to sleeping beside him and currently rested by his pillow. Ash's vision adjusted to the dark and he could make out the bright red LED numbers of the digital clock. Judging from the time (3 in the morning), Ash could have guessed that he slept the entire day away. His body felt refreshed though, so he didn't care too much.

"Oh, you're awake."

The brunet jumped at the voice and turned to see Paul was sitting in the other bed in the room. Ash sighed in relief, knowing that Paul was okay and still with him.

"Paul… What happened? The last thing I remembered was passing out on Torterra."

Paul leaned back on the headboard of his bed, cushioned by a pillow behind him. He looked tranquil, from what Ash could make out from where he sat in the dark. The only source of light in the room came from the Pokemon Center sign outside. Ash could see Paul's shoulders were relaxed and his posture much calmer than his usual stance.

"We brought you back to the Pokemon Center. Nurse Joy patched your arm up and looked at our pokemon, who were perfectly fine. Torterra told me that Pikachu had rescued them from the Quagsire somehow."

Paul closed his eyes for a second. He had slept enough and woke up not too long before Ash did. He had promptly fallen unconscious as soon as his head hit the pillow after they got a room. He left Ash in the care of his friends, who had tucked him in the bed next to him. True he got less sleep than Ash, but his sleeping patterns were arranged to have less hours, so his internal clock woke him up after the long nap.

"Oh. But why are you here Paul?"

"Your friends already got a room for themselves. It was easier to give us a room together since we were brought in together."

Ash just nodded, scratching the back of his head anxiously. Why he was nervous, he didn't really know. He had been alone with Paul for the past few nights already; there was really nothing to be shy about. Paul had mentioned that Joy had tended to his arm, so Ash barely felt any pain from it. It would probably heal in a matter of days, so the boy was glad for that.

"So… we made it out alive. Pikachu is back too. I really have to thank you Paul, for staying with me the whole time and tolerating all my mistakes. I don't know how I can pay you back for all that you did for me."

The brunet clenched the sheets beneath his fingers. His heart trembled, and he wasn't sure why. They had reached the end of their tiny adventure and everything came out alright, but for some reason, Ash didn't want to call it finished. He didn't want to believe that this chapter was over, there was still something missing.

"Hey, I told you that I was using you as well. I kept you around because I was handicapped. We stayed alive because there were two of us. Pay me back by getting stronger."

Ash smiled lightly. There was some semblance of the Paul he knew before this whole ordeal but he heard more of the one that had accompanied him on the trip. And then Ash realized why he felt so empty now that they were fine and in safe hands. They had returned back to the main road of their journey, which set them back to being rivals. Aside from being his opponent again, they were to part ways on their own paths and Ash somehow couldn't bear the idea of Paul leaving. He knew they were going to run into one another eventually but it was different this time. And what of the Paul that he had gotten so acquainted with? Will his rival revert to the cold person he was before? The thought made Ash feel terribly abandoned.

"Ash?"

The brunet jumped at the sound of his name. Paul looked at him in question to which Ash just shook his head and put a smile on his face.

"I will get stronger; you don't have to tell me twice."

Paul simply nodded and looked away. He sighed and then uttered a low "Thank you". It was so light that Ash barely caught it.

"You don't have-"

"Tell Pikachu I said thank you." Paul finished quickly.

"Oh. Yeah. Of course." Ash scratched his neck again.

They sat in silence again. There was no noise at all, not even from the outside since the location of the Pokemon Center was pretty secluded.

"You should go back to sleep. There's no point in staying up if you're going to be on the move again."

Ash bobbed his head in agreement and made to go back to sleep when he thought of something.

"Hey Paul, what was the answer to that riddle anyway?"

"What riddle?"

The brunet lay on his back, his head to his pillows but his eyes focused on Paul on the other side of the room.

"You know, about the Doduo and their two heads."

Paul positioned himself horizontally to match the other trainer, facing Ash. He racked his memory for the answer.

"Oh, that was when I wanted to hint that I didn't have my pokemon with me. You figured it out though, so it really doesn't matter."

"I don't get it." Ash commented.

"It was supposed to imply that the two heads needed the other to survive. Like how… you were necessary for the two of us to get through the situation. Despite all your blunders, we pulled through."

Paul shrugged lightly from beneath his sheets. It was a thing he made up on the spot, so there wasn't a definite answer.

"Oh. …I thought Doduo had two heads to keep the other company, you know, so they don't get lonely."

Ash heard a snort from the other side of the room. He positioned his body sideways, propping his head on his arm to get a better look at Paul from over the side drawer. He saw that Paul had a light smirk on his face.

"Of course you would think like that."

"Hey, it seemed plausible to me." Ash pouted.

His answer wasn't wrong, Paul thought. It's just not what he intended, but somehow, Ash had managed to bring something else into perspective. He figured, yeah, Doduo probably acted like brothers, so they probably kept the other occupied. So if he was to compare him and Ash to the Doduo heads, aside from surviving together, did they keep the other from being alone? Paul raised an eyebrow at the logic.

"Would Pikachu be the third head if we evolved into a Dodrio?" Ash suddenly pondered.

Paul just rolled his eyes at the comment. Only Ash would say something that idiotic.

"No. Now go to sleep, this has gone on for long enough. Don't make a big deal out of something useless."

The Veilstone trainer rolled over, turning his back to the other trainer. Ash frowned and sunk back into his sheets. He couldn't help but think he caught onto something that Paul didn't want to talk about. He hoped the other wasn't upset with him for bringing it up. He decided he would ask the other later in the day when there was light out.

"Good night Paul."

There was no response from the other, to which Ash had concluded Paul had already fallen asleep. He snuggled back into the comforts of his pillow. Pikachu had shuffled lightly at his movements but didn't wake.

Paul rolled back over as soon as he heard the breathing of his rival even out. He sighed and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts swarming with Doduos and the boy in the bed next to his. No, he was not lonely without Ash, he continued to chant in his head. He had been perfectly fine before he met the boy and before he had been forced to cooperate with him. Why did Ash have to be stupid and put ideas out there that Paul would never have thought about.

Getting stuck with Ash was also something he didn't ever need to happen again on his journey. The boy talked too much and had uncanny instincts for things that Paul would never need to deal with. He was also ridiculously clumsy for a trainer and was in constant need of supervision. He partially wondered if that was why Ash traveled with his companions. He figured it probably was.

Paul was ready to leave as soon as there was light and he couldn't wait to get his next badge since he had wasted so much time already. His eyes landed on the boy sleeping across the room. The boy was of no use to him but there was something about Ash that he couldn't pull away from. He scrunched his eyebrows at the sudden warmth that invaded his chest.

They would split ways and be rivals again and Paul shouldn't care about Ash until the Sinnoh tournament, if the fool would even make it that far. In the back of his mind, Paul knew Ash would and they were probably going to face each other in the finals.

Fine, Paul thought, this guy keeps me busy and that's the only reason to have Ash around, really. They _were_ rivals, after all, and that's what they did, right? Satisfied with that train of thought, Paul finally allowed himself to drift off again.

* * *

Not surprisingly, Paul was the first to wake up again. He took a shower and changed out of his dirty clothes with fresh laundry that managed to stay clean in his bag. With a towel over his head to dry off his hair, he made his way over to his side of the room when he heard shuffling from Ash's bed.

"Pika?"

The electric rodent had woken up and stared curiously at Paul, who held his own gaze at the pokemon. He turned away to look through and rearrange the contents of his bag. The strap was still broken and he would have to repair it before he left. Pikachu sat up after seeing Paul leave the room to ask for some sewing material from Nurse Joy.

Pikachu never really had an opinion on his trainer's rival. Sure, he had drawn a match against the boy, but he never took any losses personally. Ash had not seemed to dislike the boy too much, since he would go out of his way to greet Paul. And if Ash was okay with Paul, so would Pikachu. He glanced down at his still sleeping trainer. It was an hour before noon and Pikachu would normally have woken Ash up if he slept for too long, but he knew that Ash needed to recover.

Paul had returned with a box of needles and thread, compacted into a tiny case for travel conveniences. The boy took another one over at the other sleeping body in the room. He just shook his head and made to repair his bag on his bed. He noticed Pikachu eyeing him from behind Ash's bed head. It might have been the pokemon's constant staring but Paul wasn't sure why he began a conversation with him.

"You must have had it rough, having to stay with him the whole time. He's such a handful."

The electric rodent perked his ears, realizing the other male was addressing him. Pikachu leapt over Ash's body and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Paul. The trainer could tell the pokemon was upset with his words with the way it narrowed its eyes.

"He can't take a hint, he talks too much, he's clumsy and way too naive." Paul went on as he threaded the needle.

"Pika, Pikachu pika pikachu pi."

He didn't understand what the pokemon said to him but Paul continued to talk anyway.

"I wouldn't have gotten into half as much trouble if I was by myself." He winced when he stabbed himself with the needle. "And he tries too hard and cares too much. It's annoying."

Pikachu noticed the slight change of tone in the last sentence. He couldn't be too sure but he thought it sounded warmer than Paul's other comments.

"Pika?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

Paul glanced at the pokemon. "I don't hate him though, if that's what you're wondering. But I doubt I can ever be friends with a guy like him." His voice dropped, and Pikachu barely caught what he had said. "Reminds me too much of Brother."

"Pikachu pipi pika chu."

"I still don't know what you're saying and I don't even know why I bothered talking to you. I do owe you one for rescuing my pokemon though, so, I guess this is the extent of my gratitude."

And that was the end the conversation as Paul resumed his mending. He was about half way done with his sewing when Ash stirred in his sleep. The brunet rolled around while muttering something. Paul didn't pay it much mind until he heard Ash yelling his name before the boy flew over the edge and landed on the floor as a lump under tangled sheets.

"Pikapi?"

Ash only twitched in response. He laid there for a moment and Paul wondered if he had gone back to sleep.

"…Are you going to lay there for the rest of the day?"

There was movement and Ash made to remove the sheet that covered his face. His eyes adjusted to the scenery from his position on the floor. And then his eyes landed on Paul, who sat tentatively but looked on with a raised eyebrow.

The rival saw something change in the boy on the floor. It might have been the way Ash scrunched his eyebrows or the impassive expression on his face but Paul noticed the slight dim in his hazel eye that were usually so full of vigor. He hoped it was just because Ash had woken up but something told him that Ash wouldn't look that depressed over lost sleep.

"…Are you okay? You've been laying there for quite a while."

"Paul…" Ash called out weakly.

The voice sounded so pathetic but Paul heard it as a plea. It baffled him why Ash would call out to him in such a tone but what confused him more was the dull ache in his chest due to the boy's cry. He had never heard his name said in such a sad way.

"You let go of me," Ash whispered, "in my dream."

The boy grasped the air with an extended arm to emphasize his point. There was evidence of some wetness around his eye but Ash didn't do anything to remove of its traces. He was so shaken up by his dream, he didn't want to close his eyes or he might recall the memory too clearly.

Paul didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't like he had actually released Ash's hand and let him fall to his doom. He shouldn't have felt bad; he was not at fault and he had no obligations to comfort the other. But Ash was upset and Paul didn't like how pathetic (not to mention out of character) that was, so it was only natural that he would want to do something about it.

"It was just a dream. Don't think too much about it, it wasn't real."

Ash blinked back the tears at Paul's words. He sighed, but Ash knew the other boy was right. It had not actually happened and there was no point in worry about it. He tried to reassure himself with a mantra in his head but it didn't soothe the heavy burden in his heart that felt like betrayal. Pikachu was by his side, a little more sympathetic than Paul. He cooed and patted Ash's face with his tiny paws.

"I'll be fine Pikachu. I guess I'll go take a shower, to clear my head."

The boy stood up, placing the covers back on the bed and trudged into the bathroom, closing the door behind him without a word. Pikachu hopped back onto the bed and glared at the other occupant of the room expectantly. Paul pretended to be occupied with his sewing and ignored the pokemon. He knew his words hadn't exactly helped in Ash's emotional case, but they were the only things Paul would allow himself to say.

When Ash reemerged from the bathroom, he had a towel over his head so it was hard to read any facial expressions, but Paul could tell that he was still somber from earlier. The brunet sat in silence as he dried off his hair. Pikachu was by his side, twittering excitedly about something that Paul still didn't understand. The pokemon's chatter worked a little because Ash laughed lightly. He removed the towel from his head and glanced up at the other trainer, who promptly went back to his sewing when he saw dark eyes on him.

Paul finally finished mending the strap of his backpack, testing its strength a few times before replacing the sewing kit to its proper form. Ash was sat quietly watching him. It unnerved him a bit to have such expectant eyes following his every movement but Paul didn't show it. He got up from his bed, shrugging on the bag with everything already packed and prepared for departure.

"It's almost lunch time and neither of us has eaten since yesterday. You should go get breakfast."

"What about you? Aren't you eating?" Ash tilted his head to the side. "I mean… can't we go together, to get food?"

Paul just raised an indifferent eyebrow. Ash bit back the frown that was quick to form. He really disliked the fact that his rival was so ready to get rid of him, despite everything they had gone through together. Or maybe he was just pathetic because he admit that he had grown quite fond of Paul and he liked being in the other's company. And maybe Ash _wanted_ to spend more time with him on his own will and not because they were forced to do so.

"You have Pikachu and your friends to do that with."

The mauve haired trainer made to move for the door but was stopped when there was a hand on his shoulder. He didn't have to turn around because Ash had walked up to face him with irritation and a scowl.

"So you're just going to walk out of here without eating first?"

"I never said I wasn't going to eat, I just said I wasn't going with you."

"But we're heading to the same place."

"Yes but I don't necessarily have to be there when you are."

There was a pause where both boys just glared at the other in hopes of moving the other.

"…Do you really not want me around that much?" Ash finally sighed in resignation.

"I prefer to be alone, if you haven't noticed."

Ash shouldn't have to fight with that. It was Paul's preference after all but he still took it personally that the other didn't want to be near him. And it didn't help that Ash felt like if Paul walked out the door right now, he would lose him forever. He knew it was silly, but his worries from last night, along with his dream just added extra anxiety that came out as stubbornness. Pikachu went to his trainer and looked up to Paul with pleading eyes.

"This is ridiculous. Ash, move."

"No!" Ash yelled, surprising the other two along with himself from his outburst. "Just… can we just eat together, one last time before we leave?"

Paul blinked at the choice of words and the begging tone. And then he realized Ash's desperation. Or at least he had some idea of why the other boy sounded like they were never going to meet again. It wasn't even about eating together anymore. He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Are you still hung up over that dream? I thought I told you to forget about it. It's no good to be weighed down by useless things. At this rate, you're never going to beat me, not with that attitude."

A vein of anger struck Ash. It was the kind of mockery that the old Paul would throw at him and it always worked in setting him off. Ash found himself fisting the material of his rival's jacket, jostling Paul a bit but he didn't seem surprised.

"You don't understand! I can't just- I don't know why I bother with you, you're so- You-"

Ash couldn't find the proper words. He was so angry at his rival but he was also angry at himself for feeling this way. Why couldn't he be as calm as Paul, who could put aside anything and just move on? Why did he have to be so stuck on this guy that the thought of him leaving would seem like the end of his world? Why?

Paul put a hand on Ash's wrist. Ash bristled at the contact, knowing full well that it was Paul's way of asking to be released but the touch brought him back to the time when they outran the pack of Mightyena. He wasn't sure if it was evident what he was thinking, or Paul just knew, because the other leaned in and whispered lightly.

"I hadn't let go back then. I could have left you, but I didn't. You trusted me back then, why can't you now?"

Ash's heart jumped. Paul was right though. From the very moment they were thrown off the cliff, to escaping from the Mightyena, walking through the marsh, to leaping out of Team Rocket's balloon, Paul had been there with him the entire time. If Ash let him leave now, would Paul still be there? His grip on the jacket only tightened, Ash lowered his head and answered in hushed tone.

"I don't want you to leave."

It was almost too low for him to hear but Paul heard it. His throat felt dry and he had no idea how to react to the confession. He hadn't realized the extent of how much the other boy had grown attached to him. It was a burden since Paul never wanted to have to do with Ash in the first place, but the trembling hold on the fabric of his jacket and the shaking boy in front of him told him that it was a burden he couldn't leave alone. His hold on Ash's hands grew soft and Paul thought to console him.

Except there was a knock on the door and the sound of Ash's friends on the other side that prevented Paul from saying anything. The two boys broke away from the other and stood back far enough so that it didn't seem so incriminating when Brock and Dawn entered the room.

"Oh, so you are up. I'm glad to see you're both in better condition. It's noon already though, and I don't think Ash has had anything to eat in a while. I'm surprised you haven't gone downstairs yet Ash."

Brock surveyed the two boys, who looked away from the other. He wondered briefly if something happened between the two. The sound of Ash's stomach broke his thought and Dawn was quick to poke fun of her friend's internal food clock.

"You should join us as well Paul. I'm sure you're just as hungry." Brock offered, somewhat to be polite but also because he was genuinely concerned. And maybe they could finally get the story of why they were found together when it was Ash who had gone missing alone.

Ash looked up at hearing Brock's invitation and then hopefully over to Paul. His rival just shrugged and muttered a low "sure, why not?" The smile on Ash's face could not be contained. He didn't say anything to Paul, despite his eagerness, and just made to grab his backpack, ready to leave.

* * *

It actually wasn't too awkward sitting with Ash's group, despite the girl's suspicious glare. Paul really was hungry and ate more than he normally would, but it still didn't compare to the amount of food that Ash had piled on his plate. He hadn't expected such an appetite in a scrawny boy like Ash. He only guessed that was the reason the boy was able to expend so much energy.

As he slowly finished his meal, Paul could tell that the older friend wanted to ask something of him. The girl was still giving him shifty eyes, despite not even having said a word to her.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I'm just curious but what exactly happened?" Brock finally voiced his curiosity. "Ash went to get water with Pikachu and he didn't come back. And when did you come around Paul?"

Ash looked up from his food, chewing rapidly so he could swallow and answer but Paul spoke up before he could.

"I was chasing after a pokemon. I met him by the river. Team Rocket had attacked us and then this guy jumped off a cliff to save Pikachu."

Dawn gasped and Brock blinked, though wasn't surprised by his friend's actions. Ash finally swallowed his food and took a sip of orange juice before continuing where Paul left off. He explained that Team Rocket had captured Pikachu and they got away but Paul had saved him from the fall. Pikachu broke into the conversation then and Ash was able to figure out how his friend had gotten away safely, which he promptly translated to the rest of the group. Ash was the one who told his friends that Team Rocket had technically taken Paul's pokemon as well.

"So Paul didn't have any pokemon with him either?"

Paul looked away from Dawn, who had asked the question. Seeing Paul's reaction, the coordinator only gaped at him in disbelief. She hoped Ash hadn't encountered too much trouble with such a handicap _and_ bad company. Ash informed her about how they had to outrun the pack of wild Mightyena and how they ate apples and berries for three days. Paul also added in Ash's excessive bumbling, which earned him a glare and an indignant outburst from said boy. Brock watched the two interact, curious and amused by their development. The air between the two had mellowed out quite a bit from what the breeder could tell.

"And Team Rocket showed up again, and then you guys came in and Torterra saved us, and that's about it."

Ash also wanted to mention their adventures in the marshes but he decided against it, as that was mostly his discovery of Paul's nicer side and he liked the idea of keeping it his own pleasant memory. He watched his friends interacting with his rival as he took a few more bites out of his breakfast. There was a sense of normalcy that Ash hadn't realized he missed, except that Paul was sitting with the rest of his friends and the picture seemed much more complete. Paul was surprisingly civil, as opposed to how Ash remembered him back in Oreburgh City. He wondered if their latest trip had to do with the change in Paul's attitude towards Brock and Dawn, and himself as well.

"Ah!" Ash cried out. The last piece of bacon had slipped off his fork while his mind had wandered. He pouted lightly at the loss.

Dawn only chuckled and shook her head at her friend's same old behavior, but it was obvious she was glad for his safety. "No need to worry" was just about right; Ash managed to pull through and was back without too many fatal injuries. She couldn't help but feel there was something different about him though. It wasn't any physical difference, but Dawn noticed the way Ash would occasionally glance at his rival and she wondered if there was more to their story that Ash had not revealed.

"I suppose I should get going." Paul stood up, taking his tray in his hands.

He felt Ash's gaze on him but he didn't look at the other. He nodded politely at Brock and thanked him for allowing him to eat with them. He also bowed lightly in acknowledgement of Dawn's presence, to which she awkwardly bowed back, slightly shocked.

Dawn opened her mouth to comment about Paul as soon as he left the room but she held her words noticing the suddenly gloomy Ash. The boy still held his eating utensils but it was obvious he wasn't too concentrated on his meal.

"Ash, are you okay?"

The boy looked up at the call of his name, and threw on a smile to reassure the girl but Dawn was not stupid. Brock just sighed.

"Go after him Ash. You still have something to say to him, right?"

Ash wasn't sure how much Brock knew, but the younger boy wasn't surprised by it. He put down his fork and spoon and muttered a quick "I'll be right back guys" before dashing out the dining hall. Pikachu sat still at the table. Despite having been torn from his best friend for days, Pikachu knew that Ash needed to talk to Paul alone.

"…Brock, do you know what's going on between those two?"

The pokemon breeder shrugged lightly and patted her on the shoulder.

"I can't say for sure but I think they'll be fine."

* * *

Paul stopped and turned to the other boy, who was breathing hard but tried not to show it. Ash slowed to a few feet where Paul stood. He hadn't run too far but he found that his heart was pounding rapidly against his chest anyway.

"I, uh-" Ash started but realized he had no idea what he wanted to say. In the rush to catch up to Paul he hadn't thought of the appropriate words only that he had to stop his rival from leaving.

Instead, he thrust out an open hand to his rival. Ash swallowed back the dry lump in his throat and breathed in.

"I won't forget this. And everything that happened." He finally confessed. "Thanks for everything."

Silence fell between the two boys. Ash put everything in that final gesture. He hoped Paul understood what he meant by it. Will whatever happened between them remain intact or will it revert back to like before? Ash wasn't sure he would be able to handle the cold shoulders and ignored greetings.

Paul looked at the other boy in question. The gloved hand beckoned him, as did Ash's expression.

The hand that Paul had shoved in his pockets unfurled and he found himself taking Ash's hand. He hadn't even intended on doing so because every fiber in his mind was telling him he couldn't afford this, but apparently his body had reacted against his wishes.

The smile that lit Ash's face and the light squeeze that held his fingers told Paul that maybe perhaps he didn't always need to rely on what his brain told him. It was, in fact, instinct that threw him off the cliff to catch Ash from falling in the beginning. What was it about Ash that made him want to act and not think?

"I'll see you around then?"

Paul looked down at their connected hands. The firm hold between them warmed him up from the inside. It was strange but not unpleasant, just unfamiliar.

"Ah. See you."

Even as he let go, the feeling stayed with him. Paul took one last look at Ash before heading off to his next destination.

Ash let out a sigh that he didn't know he was holding. His chest still thumped rapidly but he felt better than ever. His hand still tingled with the remnants of Paul's warmth. With a smile on his face, he adjusted his hat and head back to the Pokemon Center where his friends were waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [[That's it! Thank you for reading this! I hope you enjoyed their adventure! You can tell the plot was pretty much based off DP006, because I just love the idea of those two getting stuck together and Paul seeing Ash act like a bumbling fool. Which I know Ash isn't at all, but it's funny to let Paul see an embarrassing side of him.
> 
> I'm also most proud of this one line: "Would Pikachu be the third head if we evolved into a Dodrio?"
> 
> I actually planned on finishing this with a bad ending, where Paul rejects Ash's friendship. They get a happier ending in the sequel though but I never got around to finishing the sequel and I later realized there was no reason to end it off badly if I was just going to give them a good ending anyway. Rereading this, I'm kinda angry I'll never let myself write them as a true couple. But that's just how I write. Perhaps in a time skip where they're older.
> 
> Anyway, please let me know if anyone still reads Comashipping and how I did. lol]]


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